“When Will She Be Held Accountable?” Swift’s Opalite Sparks Plagiarism Debate

On February 6, Taylor Swift released the music video for her song Opalite from The Life of a Showgirl, which was released in October 2025.

Days later, Gabi Gamberg, the musician behind the indie band Daffo, accused the pop star of plagiarizing one of her works.

The Opalite music video, which now has more than 11 million views on YouTube, has a 90s retro-style aesthetic similar to Daffo’s April 2025 release, Quick Fix. Gamberg posted a side-by-side comparison of the scenes from the two videos that she thought were way too similar to be a coincidence.

The claim gained significant support on social media. “Smells like intellectual property sabotage to me,” wrote one user.

Independent Musician claims Taylor Swift’s Opalite music video is “a complete rip”

Image credits: XNY/Star Max/Getty Images

The first minute of Opalite’s music video, which Swift wrote and directed alongside Rodrigo Prieto, shows an old-style TV infomercial of a cleaning spray named after the song. The advertisement claims the product to be “a revolutionary fix” for all of life’s problems.

Gamberg’s Quick Fix also centers around a similar miracle spray commercial in which she features as the actress.

The similarities do not stop there.

Image credits: daffoband/Instagram

Did Taylor Swift borrow an idea for her latest music video from a small indie artist? This girl is making her case for it. Considering her aversion to stealing art, it would seem unlikely, but then again, didn’t she try to help her bestie steal a film?

What do you think: a… pic.twitter.com/00fu37wZYc

— Shawnee Gregorio (@GregorioSh64773) February 15, 2026

Gamberg shared stills of herself and Swift holding the products in promotional-style poses. Both videos feature close-up shots of the spray in a dimly lit kitchen.

There are similar shots of toll-free telephone numbers on a TV screen, requesting viewers to call and purchase the products. Gamberg also pointed out other resemblances, such as a table scene and one in which the TV is turned off.

Image credits: highpaige_

Image credits: CrystlIS

“Obviously she was able to expand on the idea in ways that I couldn’t because she has resources and money that I don’t necessarily have access to,” Gamberg said in her video. “But more or less, it looks like a complete rip to me of the concept, at least.”

“I think it is really messed up. It does not feel good. She’s going to make a lot of money off of an idea that probably wasn’t hers,” she added.

Taylor Swift got the idea for the Opalite music video on The Graham Norton Show

Image credits: Taylor Swift / Daffo

During a behind-the-scenes segment of Opalite‘s extended music video, Swift explained the thought process behind the miraculous spray product concept as well as the inspiration behind the casting.

“Opalite actually sounds a little bit like a commercial or something,” Swift said. “So I was like, ‘What if it actually was, in the music video, this magical product?’”

Image credits: Taylor Swift / Daffo

“Nope-Alite is for people who want to choose to be unhealed,” she explained of the second fictional product featured in the music video, which reverses the effects of Opalite. “Opalite is for people who want to choose a path that serves them.”

The Fortnight singer also said that she could not figure out what to do for the video for almost a year. The idea “crash landed” into her imagination during an October 2025 appearance on The Graham Norton Show.

Image credits: Taylor Swift / Daffo

During the talk show, one of her fellow guests, Domhnall Gleeson, made a “lighthearted joke” about hoping to someday be featured in one of Swift’s music videos. At the time, the Grammy-winning artist was visibly surprised by the admission.

That is when lightning struck.

Image credits: Taylor Swift / Daffo

A week later, Swift emailed Gleeson a script of the music video in which he would play the main male protagonist.

Other guests from the talk show episode appeared in the video as well, including Cillian Murphy, Jodie Turner-Smith, Lewis Capaldi, Greta Lee, and Graham Norton himself.

Taylor Swift has faced accusations of plagiarism before

Image credits: Taylor Swift / Daffo

The billionaire music sensation is no stranger to allegations of stealing lyrics and other intellectual properties (IP). While Gamberg kept her accusation to social media, some have taken Swift to court over similar disputes.

For instance, in December 2022, she settled a copyright lawsuit from songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, who sued Swift over the lyrics of her 2014 single Shake It Off.

Hall and Butler claimed that she stole the lyrics from 3LW’s 2001 number Playas Gon’ Play.

Image credits: swifttanic

Image credits: StacieCamp43838

Many users seem to believe that several of her lyrics and video art concepts are borrowed from elsewhere.

“This is what Taylor does,” one person said in reaction to Gamberg’s accusation. “She steals things happily, especially from rising younger artists she’s jealous of, because she knows her fans will viciously defend anything and everything she does.”

“When will she finally be held accountable?” another questioned.

However, others thought the idea of an infomercial was common and that it would be a stretch to call it IP theft.

“I mean, it was a spoof of every 90s infomercial,” one user said in Swift’s defense. “It isn’t that original of a concept. Taylor actually grew up in the 90s (unlike this artist) so she saw it all the time growing up.”

“This is a basic concept. There’s a million pieces in pop culture that have this idea,” another individual pointed out.

“I can’t keep up with her theft anymore.” Users expressed their opinions on Taylor Swift being accused of plagiarism

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