The Orange Door At The End Of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour: Theories And Speculation About What It Could Mean
"All I think about is karma."
Us Swifties have come to learn that there is no such thing as a minor detail when it comes to Taylor Swift. However, there’s a little detail that has been puzzling fans since the Eras Tour began, and now that Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film is available to stream with a Disney+ subscription, we’ve all gotten a front-row view of the concert, and this moment is even more baffling. This detail I’m referring to is the orange door that descends from the heavens during the final number of the show – “Karma” – and we need to talk about it.
If you saw the hit movie or you caught Swift’s concert live, it’s hard not to take notice of the seemingly random orange door that is featured on the screen on stage during “Karma.” However, Swifties have some excellent theories about what it could mean, so let’s break them down.
Could The Orange Door Allude To Taylor Swift’s Next Album?
Dating back to the Reputation era, we Swifties have been clowning about an allegedly lost album from Taylor Swift called Karma. Along with speculation that the record was scrapped, but could come out someday, it’s long been theorized that this hypothetical album’s color would have been (or will be) orange.
This brings us to the finale of the Eras Tour. Notably, the pop star uses all the colors from her eras during the “Karma” number likely to signify how the show travels through her ten albums. However, orange is not associated with a released record, but it's very present during the final song.
Do you know what color jacket emerges first as the orange door descends? Orange, as you can see in the TikTok below:
@alexaaaa1015 ♬ original sound - 🦋 ✨ Alexa ✨ 🦋
All of this is very suspicious, and it’s left a lot of Swifties wondering if Karma could be released as Taylor Swift’s eleventh album.
The other primary reason this door has sparked TS12 rumors is because of our good friend, “The Man” wall. As you can see in the photo below (a screenshot from the music video for the Lover single), all the names of Swift’s re-released (or soon-to-be-re-released) albums are featured. So far, we’ve seen them dropped in an infinity-shape order, with the re-release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) being the most recent drop, coming off the heels of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). At the center of the wall is “Karma” written twice, and as Alex Antonides pointed out on TikTok, this point mixed with the orange door seems to allude to a new album from the pop star.
CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER
Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News
Along with all this, @peachykarly took to Instagram to illuminate some of the Easter eggs from past projects that could help us better understand the meaning of the orange door. Pointing out some of the ideas mentioned above, they also drew a few more parallels to how Swift has ended her tours in the past with hints to other albums, writing:
While the confetti at the end of the show is all her eras' colors, the orange door does seem like it could be an active hint at an upcoming project for Swift, especially considering that she’s hinted at future albums in these kinds of ways before.
Overall, all these points seem to add fuel to the flame that is the Karma album theory.
Taylor Swift Added Multiple New Orange Outfits To The Eras Tour Following The Tortured Poets Department’s Release
Adding even more fuel to the TS12 fire, one of the changes made to the Eras Tour following the release of The Tortured Poets Department was her outfits. While it’s not unusual to see Swift switch up her fits, what’s suspicious about this latest bunch is the fact that multiple sets now heavily feature the color orange.
So, how does this connect to the Orange Door? It’s entirely possible that the two things are unrelated ,but it’s really the only other use of the color throughout the show, and the fact that Swift now has so many new Eras outfits that feature the third color of the rainbow feels like a sign pointing toward that door and the lost album.
With all that being said, here’s a list of Taylor Swift’s new orange outfits that we’ve seen on the European leg of the Eras Tour:
- Lover: We now have an orange and pink bodysuit, boots and blazer.
- 1989: Swift has been rocking variations of a new two-piece set that features lots of colors – including pink, blue, yellow, green, purple and, of course, orange.
- Surprise Songs: When Swift played her surprise songs set before, she would don a blue, pink, green or yellow dress. Now, post-TTPD, she still has blue and pink, however, she seems to have swapped the yellow for orange.
Are we clowning with all of this? Of course. However, it’s worth noting how telling Taylor Swift’s fashion is when it comes to her upcoming projects. For example, when she announced 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in LA, she debuted a ton of new blue Eras outfits. Also, at the Grammys this year, her corset dress was giving major Tortured Poets energy, and she went on to announce the album that night.
Considering all of this, let’s not overlook these orange looks for a second, especially since that pesky orange door we’ve been talking about is still a mystery.
Does The Orange Door Belong In The Lover House?
Along with the orange door at the end of the show, there’s also orange featured when the Lover house appears in a few different ways. In a very informative X thread from @haunted_tears, they theorized about the role the color plays in Swift’s show, pointing specifically to the house, and how it burns down during the concert. They wrote:
They also noted that when we see the Lover house the front door is red on the outside, and when the door descends during “Karma” it almost looks like the back of a door, and it’s orange. If each room in the Lover house represents an album, is there an orange room we haven’t seen yet? They seem to think so.
How Could The Orange Door Tie Into The Performance Of Karma?
Now, we’ve talked about what the orange door might allude to, but now, let’s think about what it could mean in the context of the show. In a TikTok Kristina Parro explained:
Along the same lines, another fan, @tserastour2 posted a video of the final moments after Swift descends below the stage, and pointed out how after the door hits the ground, it disappears and fireworks go off.
@tserastour2 ♬ original sound - Taylor Swift Ears tour
The final moments of this show feel like such a jubilant celebration of Swift’s career and her work toward reclaiming it, and if these theories prove to be true, it’s also a reflection of the moment she’s currently having.
Taylor Swift has proven time and time again that she loves an Easter egg, and she’s a fan of hinting at future projects in her current work. From the clues in the “Karma” video that pointed to 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) clues littered in “Lavender Haze” and “Bejeweled,” it is logical that Swift is playing the long game, and she’s using her tour to hint at her next project of fully new music.
Wouldn’t it be a fabulous way to prove all the haters wrong, and put a stamp on reclaiming her work to release the lost Karma album? Fans seem to think so, and according to their theories, the Orange door at the end of the Eras Tour show seems to allude to this happening, but we'll have to wait and see!
Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite shows Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift to Fire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.