What Is Taylor Swift's 'F--k A-- Filter?' I'd Heard About This As A Swiftie, But The Name Was One Big Shock For Me

As a longtime Swiftie, I’ll be the first to admit we have some hilariously weird terms and traditions. While most Eras Tour traditions make sense and actions like friendship bracelet making can be traced back to lyrics, some things just emerge out of memes and jokes. That, my friends, is how the “fuck ass filter” came to be, and I’m so excited I have to explain this because Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother Jason made it go viral by bringing it up on their podcast.

So, here’s how this came up in the first place. A fan asked New Heights producers Brandon Borders, who is known as “Intern Brandon,” and Jake Chatzky, AKA “Jets Jake,” what it felt like to be in a photo that features Taylor Swift’s “fuck ass filter” on the Kelce brother’s podcast.

Now, I was shocked by this term. While I knew what he was referring to, I didn't fully realize its hilarious title. It just straight up left the Kelce brothers confused, so Borders tried to explain it, saying:

While the specific photo wasn’t shown on the podcast, fans speculate that they were referencing images taken on Swift’s camera that her friend Ashley Avignone posted on Instagram. In the second photo you can spot Brandon and Jake poking their heads up toward the back of the group:

This explanation didn’t help the Kelces, and Brandon told the brothers they “gotta get online.” And I'll be the first to admit, I'm super online and almost didn't get this reference. However, once I thought about it for like two seconds, I knew exactly what the "fuck ass filter" was.

To that point, the tight end complimented the Swifties by saying any name they come up with has to have a bigger meaning, saying:

However, in this case, I don’t think there’s a bigger meaning, it’s simply the funny term fans have come up with to describe the intense filter that impacts the photos taken on Taylor Swift’s camera, which you can see an example of below:

As you can see, there’s a vintage blue-ish filter on all these photos, and it’s a visual theme that has been common among Swift’s more personal images for years. The example above was from her birthday party, and she used the same kind of filter again back in the spring of 2023 to promote the version of “Karma” that featured Ice Spice:

Overall, while “fuck ass filter” is a jarring name, it’s a term of endearment, as it gives fans a personal peek into Swift’s life.

When I see the filter on a photo Swift is in, I immediately assume it was taken on her camera and it’s a pretty personal moment. Fans think that too, as many reacted to the Kelces’ podcast with explanations of the filter like the ones below:

• "I am a fuckass filter girlie through and through. The fuckass filter tells us *she* wanted to capture the moment, it’s *her* picture. Thank you, fuckass filter, for existing." -@BeFearlessBeYou
• "we call it the fuckass filter as a joking term of endearment because it makes photos so recognisably taylor’s and she’s been posting from that camera for YEARS and is so committed to a seemingly random distinct filter hence it’s a running swiftie joke @Brandon_Borders" -@sevencorneliast
• "for @JasonKelce (and others): 'fuckass filter' (n., swiftie): an affectionate term for the distinctive filter produced by Taylor Swift’s Olympus camera that can be easily ID’d as her signature style when posted by a tayfriend. i.e 'I’d recognize that fuckass filter anywhere.'" -@dontlikeacidrck
• "@JasonKelce I am acting as the swiftie to 92%er liaison…the Fuck Ass Filter is this filter that all the pictures taken on Tay’s device have & we can always tell which ones are from that device bc they all have the same filter & it was dubbed Fuck Ass Filter as a joke." -@sayray10

Listen, there’s a lot of Swiftie lore. We’re constantly clowning too close to the sun about things like the re-release of Reputation, and we have a whole bunch of terms and sayings to go along with the various things Taylor Swift does in her personal and professional life. Most of the time, they make sense. However, every once in a while, a shocking term emerges out of an inside joke or meme, and that is the case for “fuck ass filter.”

Now, with the Chiefs going to the Super Bowl and more Taylor Swift projects inevitably on the way, all of us can keep an eye out for photos that feature the “fuck ass filter.” While I love any image we get that gives us a peek into the pop star’s life, these are extra special because we know they’re hers.