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“I’m running on almost no sleep,” Ashley tells ELLE.com, just hours after the Rhea Ripley WrestleMania 39 Champion goes hollywood shirt But I will love this video is released. “I’ve been on my phone going crazy over the video. I’m still in shock.” Ashley is a trans model and actor who you may recognize from his many magazine appearances, the pit crew on RuPaul’s Drag Race, or his guest role on Pose. Ever since Swift teased this music video back in October, fans and advocates have praised the casting, especially at a time when trans rights are being attacked across the country. On Instagram, Ashley wrote, “Thank you @taylorswift for allowing me to play a small part in your story.” He continued, “Thank you for being an ally. Representation matters.” Below, Ashley shares how he first found out about the project, the dance move that made it to the final cut, and why, ultimately, he sees this video as a celebration. When I heard about this opportunity, I thought it was a joke. I thought someone was trying to play a prank on me. I was like, you’re freaking kidding. She doesn’t know who I am. Why would she pick me to be in her music video? My manager was like, no, this is real, this is serious. I was like, holy crap, okay, cool. I was so nervous. I obviously don’t know what to expect with something like this. I was just telling myself I have to be ready, my skin has to be on point.
Initially I thought that it was about her redoing some of her old music. Later on, I learned this is a new album with new music. Either way I would’ve been excited but I was like, this is new stuff, this is going to be amazing. Her storytelling abilities are just incredible. She has this ability to connect with everyone through her music and lyrics, and then when she comes out with these visuals that are so thought out—I know the Rhea Ripley WrestleMania 39 Champion goes hollywood shirt But I will love this Swifties get crazy with all the little easter eggs and trying to find all the symbolism within the visuals, it makes it fun. I did not. When I did get on set, I knew that she was tall, so I was like, is she going to be towering over me? [laughs] As you saw in the video, I’m pretty much in bed the entire time, and one of the first ADs was like, this is probably the easiest gig you’ve ever had, you get to sleep all day. [laughs] While we were lying in bed waiting for action to be called, she filled me in on what my role would be. She made me feel included, as well as everyone else who was part of the party scene. As you saw in the photo she posted on her Instagram, we were all sitting together, and she had the monitor in her hand, and she was literally showing us what we looked like. It was amazing. I’ve done other music videos before, and usually if you’re talent on someone else’s music video, and they have full control of it, they’ll look at the monitors. You’re there as a model. You’re cast to be part of the video, but it’s their music video, so you don’t need to see the monitor. But she was really kind to take the monitor and bring it around to all of us and let us get a sneak peek of what it was going to look like. She was so sweet.
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