Lupita Has a Lot to Thank Taylor Swift for! Find Out Why

Movie lovers all know about Sundance. Every year, masses throng Park City, Utah in January to attend the annual Sundance Film Festival which is arguably one of the best events of the year for film lovers. For most of the attendees, the festival acts as a gateway to Oscar buzz in addition to shedding light on contemporary issues in the filmmaking industry. 2019’s edition lived up to the hype of its predecessors and brought with it a revelation from the Black Panther and Academy Award-winning star, Lupita Nyong’o.

The ever-glowing actress Lupita Nyong’o from Black Panther

Special Place in Heart

Speaking to the audience at the event, Nyong’o admitted to holding Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off dear. The 12 Years a Slave actress took to the stage after a screening of an upcoming comedy-horror she features in, Little Monsters. According to her, the song holds a special place in her heart, as it helped her get through a trying time in her life.

Years back, her acting career wasn’t going as well as she would have liked. Coupling that with the fact that she wasn’t in her home country, Lupita was understandably in a funk. To cheer her up, her best friend came over to her place and the two danced to Shake It Off until Lupita was able to shake off all her worries. Since then, it has become one of Lupita’s favorite tunes, especially when she wants to relieve her stress.

Talented songstress Taylor Swift released the hit song ‘Shake It Off’ in 2014

Lupita to the Rescue

In Little Monsters, the actress plays Miss Caroline, a kindergarten teacher who has to protect her kids from a zombie invasion. She strokes a guitar while singing Shake It Off, trying to keep her students calm and happy. As one can already guess, Lupita played a significant role in incorporating the tune into the film.

Lupita Nyong’o in Black Panther

As she told the Sundance audience, having the song on meant a lot to her. Unfortunately, the filmmakers were having a hard time getting the rights to the song. This motivated Lupita to contact Taylor Swift herself, share her story and request for the song’s rights. Taylor happily obliged, much to Lupita’s delight.

After its Sundance premiere, the film Little Monsters has gone on to attract critical acclaim, garnering a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 59% on Metacritic. A score of above 50% from the former says a lot about a film or TV shows, seeing as the Tomatometer is a particularly harsh critic. Consequently, it is safe to say that Lupita and the rest of the film’s cast did a pretty good job. According to Collider, the Mexican-Kenyan actress was pure gold in the zombie movie.

Without a doubt, Lupita has done well for herself in Hollywood, starting up as a production assistant and shining her way to the prestigious Academy Award. She kick-started her acting career on East River, a short film, before returning to Kenya to feature in Shuga. Upon her return to the United States, she undertook a masters acting degree at the Yale School of Drama. Shortly after graduation, she landed the 12 Years a Slave role, and the rest, as they say, is history.