Was Taylor Swift’s ‘Father Figure’ from "The Life of a Showgirl" inspired by HBO’s Succession? Here’s what we know

Taylor Swift's newest album, The Life Of A Showgirl, features a song called Father Figure. In a recent interview, the singer has officially confirmed that the song was inspired by HBO's hit show Succession, especially by the character of Logan Roy. The singer talked about this in her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, which was posted on YouTube on October 7, 2025:

“That song was so much fun to write. So its like, protege, mentor and the relationship between the two, right? And the power dynamics and sorta the idea that the power could flip and somebody could betray somebody, that's so fun to write. And this was written from the persepective of the mentor to the protege."

Taylor Swift continued:

"I kept thinking about that scene in Succession where Logan looks at his kids, and says, 'I love you. But you are not serious people.' An I think about that scene constantly. I just think its one of the coolest scenes ever."

Taylor Swift went on:

"And I was like, I wanna write a song that has that energy of sort of Logan Roy being like "You bit the hand that fed you and you do not have.. you do not possess the vernacular to be doing this." But I also really have completely related to the protege perspective in so many of these situations, right?"

Taylor Swift concluded her thoughts on the song:

"Like, I relate to the younger one. Like, when I'm listening to this song, even though its from the perspective of the father figure. That's why I like this so one so much."

Logan Roy is the main antagonist of the show and is played by Brian Cox in the series. Succession was a sci-fi series created by Jesse Armstrong and ran from June 23, 2018, to May 28, 2023.

Taylor Swift's Father Figure seems to have allusions to Scott Borchetta

Taylor Swift's Father Figure has seeming allusions to Scott Borchetta. In the first chorus, the singer sings from the perspective of the mentor talking to their protege. The mentor states to the protégé that their love for them is only for the profit, with the latter part of the song depicting the protégé moving away from their mentor and the conflict that follows.

Taylor Swift

@taylorswift13

Being in the studio and creating these songs was an unforgettable experience, but luckily I don’t ever have to forget it because I was recording while we were writing - and now it’s a way to look back on the process and give you guys a glimpse into how we wrote these songs, and hear the moments we thought of these ideas in real time.​The Life of a Showgirl (DELUXE Alone In My Tower Acoustic Version) featuring “The Life of a Showgirl” (Original Songwriting Voice Memos) Act 1 & Act 2 are available now on iTunes for 24 hours. http://taylor.lnk.to/TSAloneInMyTower

The track also has an interpolation from George Michael's track of the same name. The singer is credited posthumously for it in the album. There is also a reference to Lana Del Rey's Mariners Apartment Complex track.

More on Taylor Swift's The Life Of A Showgirl

The Life Of A Showgirl is the singer's twelfth studio album. The tracklist for the album is listed below:

• The Fate of Ophelia
• Elizabeth Taylor
• Opalite
• Father Figure
• Eldest Daughter
• Ruin the Friendship
• Actually Romantic
• Wish List
• Wood
• Canceled
• Honey
• The Life of a Showgirl feat. Sabrina Carpenter

Taylor Swift

@taylorswift13

Tonight all these lives converge hereThe mosaics of laughter and cocktails of tearsWhere fraternal souls sing identical thingsAnd it’s beautiful It’s rapturous.It is frightening.———I can’t tell you how proud I am to share this with you, an album that just feels so right. A forever thank you goes out to my mentors and friends Max and Shellback for helping me paint this self portrait.​If you thought the big show was wild, perhaps you should come and take a look behind the curtain... ​The Life of a Showgirl is out now.​https://taylor.lnk.to/TSTheLifeofaShowgirl​Album Producers: Max Martin, Shellback and Taylor Swift📸: Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott

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The album is filled with allusions and references, including Ophelia from William Shakespeare, 50 Cent, Marilyn Monroe, a painting by William Etty, The Sirens, and The Ulysses, as well as another painting by John Everett Millais of Ophelia, among many others.

The album has already sold more than 2.7 million copies in the US alone, making it the best-selling album of the year. The album is currently the most-streamed album in a single day on Amazon Music and Apple Music as well.

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