The Extended Cut of the Taylor Swift Jimmy Fallon Interview Is Horrifically On Brand

Taylor Swift is doing a full late-night press run for her new album The Life of a Showgirl. She’s already hit Graham Norton, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers as part of the promotion cycle. As I’ve already pointed out, Swift’s appearance on Fallon was the sort of soul-sucking endeavor that happens when everyone involved has committed to apolitical attempts at relatability. 

It was 40 minutes of television with no center of gravity, between a conversation, a “game” and a breakdown of the new album’s tracklist. I called it an “insufferable-off,” with both competing for a level of insincere sweetness that made my teeth hurt. Yet, somehow, this rather excessive amount of promotion for the already-record breaking album hasn’t satisfied NBC or Swift.

Taking a page out of Swift’s book, NBC will air an “extended cut” of Swift and Fallon’s interview on Friday, according to LateNighter. This model of milking every last drop of engagement from content already released is old hat for Swift. As evidenced by the multiple special-edition pressings of The Life of a Showgirl, the limited-release movie that accompanied it and the many opportunities to purchase merchandise, Swift is no stranger to getting every penny and second of engagement out of her material. Some people have gone so far as to call her business model extortion.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Taylor Swift (Extended Cut) will air on Friday and promises to release additional time from their conversation. I can’t imagine what else either has to say that will be worth listening to; we already got the Travis Kelce engagement story in full detail, empty gushing about Swift’s famous friends and the most soulless back-and-forth about One Battle After Another that’s possibly ever occurred. 

While Swift doesn’t need any additional help selling her album, Fallon adopting her business model for The Tonight Show comes at a time when he does need additional help with his ratings. The man is clearly getting pretty desperate: He recently invited Fox News late-night host Greg Gutfeld to be a guest, and committed to a “Johnny Carson” style of non-partisan humor. And yet, Fallon still falls dismally behind both Kimmel and Colbert, who share the 11:30 p.m. time slot. 

Perhaps Fallon is trying to mold himself into the Taylor Swift of late night. It won’t work, but it will be pretty embarrassing for everyone involved. Just please, Jimmy, stop throwing yourself on the ground.