“Haters gonna hate and fakers gonna fake,” celebrities including Sir Ian McKellen, Diane Kruger and Morgan Freeman appear to say in a mashup YouTube video created by the Oxford Union in an attempt to entice Taylor Swift to give a talk.
The video is sprinkled with public figures ranging from human rights activist Malala Yousafzai to Psy, the Korean singer of Gangnam Style, in a brash gambit by the university debating society to garner the attention of the Shake It Off singer.
The two-minute mashup opens with Stephen Fry saying the lyrics: “I stay up too late.”
He is then followed by journalist and television personality Piers Morgan saying the next line of the lyrics, “Got nothing in my brain”, with a bonus chuckle.
Actor Patrick Stewart then barks the key line: “Shake it off, shake it off.”
Words from speeches at the union delivered by actors Morgan Freeman, Diane Kruger and Jack Gleeson, as well as departing Fifa president Sepp Blatter and biologist Richard Dawkins, have also been mashed together to recreate the lyrics of Swift’s hit song.
The video was tweeted at Swift alongside the post: “@taylorswift13 Fancy joining us in Oxford? #shakeitoff.”
.@taylorswift13 Fancy joining us in Oxford? #shakeitoff https://t.co/PXd0s5tC5w
— Oxford Union (@OxfordUnion) August 19, 2015
Shake It Off is the lead single from Swift’s 1989, which has been the year’s bestselling album globally.
Charles Vaughan, the president of the Oxford Union, said the venerable student society, founded in 1823, was unable to book Swift in the past because of her touring schedule.
The composite video, he told the Independent, took a team seven days to trawl through footage of speakers addressing the society and to edit.
“Taylor Swift is an international sensation who does not just produce enjoyable music but has become a contemporary cultural icon,” Vaughan said.
The plea received some praise online, with the Malala Fund tweeting it was “brilliant”.
@OxfordUnion Brilliant! pic.twitter.com/ggP5MwggcO
— Malala Fund (@MalalaFund) August 19, 2015
On Facebook, a fan of the Oxford Union page said: “This is everything”, while another asked whether it was better than the original award-winning song.
Yet some comments below the video posted on YouTube were not so complimentary, with a user saying: “Some 2nd year computer scientist clearly has far too much time on their hands.”
Another said: “Oh look a bunch of privileged rich kids want to see yet another celebrity for free.”
