Taylor Swift's recent Easter eggs make a lot more sense after she surprised fans on September 22 by announcing that her new single, "Patient Zero," is dropping this week.
The 36-year-old took to Instagram and shared a photo of herself leaning against a concrete wall, dressed in a black, sleeveless halter-neck dress.
However, the announcement was overshadowed by the apparent Photoshop fail on the cover art.
Some fans claimed Taylor's armpit had been so overly "edited" that it was difficult to distinguish between her underarm and side.
"I'm so sorry but why does the side of her look so poorly edited? It looks way over-airbrushed and almost AI," one pointed out on X.
A second said: "The Photoshop on Taylor Swift's "Patient Zero" cover is horrendous... girl, you're a billionaire, please get a professional photographer."
© InstagramA third added: "No shade, but they edited her armpit to HELL. I love Taylor, by the way." Another said: "They Photoshopped your shoulder out of existence."
Others attempted to overlook the "horrendously bad" Photoshop, with some wondering if "it's intentional" while others were "obsessed" with the announcement.
Captioning the photo, Taylor wrote: "I've been impatiently waiting to tell you that my brand new single, 'Patient Zero', will be out on September 25 (!!!!!!!!!!!!) and it's available to pre-order now on my website for 24 hours."
© Getty ImagesTaylor's Easter eggs
Fans speculated Taylor had a major announcement up her sleeve when the letter "O" in all her social media bios and in the lyrics to several Life of a Showgirl tracks on Spotify were changed to the number "0."
"And, baby, that's sh0w business f0r y0u," her Instagram and X bios now read.
© Getty ImagesShe also dropped several into her Law & Order: SVU-themed skit at the Emmys on September 14 that now have fans believing "Patient Zero" could be linked to a project titled "Encore."
Taylor appeared in the skit as a rookie detective while the SVU team tried to uncover whether she would attend the Emmys or not.
"Now, in order to crack a Swiftie case, you got to think like a Swiftie because the Swifties think that everything is a clue to what she'll do next," Mariska Hargitay said as Olivia Benson.
Taylor then chimed in: "I think what we're going to be looking for is hiding in plain sight," before turning to the camera and uttering seemingly random words: "Saccharide, Aries, from the vineyard, north or south."
© Getty ImagesWhen Taylor finished, Mariska asked: "What did you just say?" before she replied: "I didn't say anything."
According to many fans on social media, "every third letter of Taylor's Emmys message" makes an anagram that spells out "encore."
One even pointed out that in the music video for "Opalite," there is a scene containing the message "patient for the encore."
"Patient Zero" will mark Taylor's first release since her Madison Square Garden wedding to Travis Kelce on July 3, 2026.
