Written by Juliana Godoy. Published: April 18 2026
(Photo:
Laufey/YouTube)
If you’re a
fan of Laufey, you probably
already know how much thought she puts into her music videos. Even
her Christmas covers like “Santa Baby” and “Santa Claus is Coming
to Town” receive their own well-produced cinematic videos. So when
she dropped the trailer for “Madwoman”, a single off the deluxe
edition of her A Matter of Time album, expectations were
high! When the video came out, most audiences agreed that Laufey
did not disappoint. Here are our favorite moments from the music
video!
The
Guest Appearances
The casting
alone broke the internet before the video was even released, with
the fans crowning the cast as the “Wasian avengers”. The video
stars actor Hudson Williams from “Heated Rivalry”, Lola Tung of “The Summer I Turned Pretty”, Olympic
champion Alysa Liu, and Megan Skiendiel of KATSEYE. Pay close
attention and you will also see Asian-American actresses Havana Rose Liu and Chase Sui
Wonders briefly appearing on the covers of magazines in
the video.
But this
casting is more than just big names. Laufey purposefully built the
cast exclusively with Asian and Asian-American stars, citing a
desire to create the representation she never saw growing up. The
representation also extended to behind the camera, and in conversation with The Hollywood
Reporter, director Warren Fu expressed that, “It just
felt like such a rare experience to have so many people in front of
and behind the camera who share a similar cultural background.”
The
Storytelling
The video
perfectly illustrates the lyrics. Laufey and her friends are all
wearing rose-colored glasses, a symbol of how they overlook the red
flags of her partner (played by Hudson Williams). Laufey rants to
her friends but is interrupted as they all get mesmerized by him,
dismissing all of the reasons why the relationship will not work
out. The car scene, in particular, is a clever visual metaphor. She
tries to escape but finds herself trapped in a dead end, ultimately
going back to her partner knowing that the relationship is not
right for her. It is symbolic of how toxic relationships can make
people feel trapped with no way to escape, therefore going back to
what is familiar, even if it’s unhealthy. Between Hudson Williams
getting slapped by a fish and Laufey being trapped as the road
collapses beneath her, this music video is great at balancing humor
and visual imagery.
The
References and Inspirations
So far, all
we know for sure about the inspirations of this music video is that
Laufey wanted to draw upon Slim Aarons’s
photography, known for his vibrant captures of high society. Laufey
wanted to reimagine that world of luxury through an Asian lens,
successfully achieving it with costuming and set design. In online
forums, people are discussing films that this video reminded them
of. Some say that the car scene and the overall concept of
attempting to escape the trap of a toxic relationship reminded them
of Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling.
Others say that the eeriness reminds them of The Truman
Show, and that the characters could be a nod to The Stepford Wives. Audiences also connected the
music video to the work of Wong Kar-Wai, a Hong
Kong filmmaker known for his vivid cinematography and storytelling.
So, if you enjoyed the music video and would like to watch a movie
with similar themes, the titles above could be great picks!
The
“Madwoman” music video is humorous, cinematic, and culturally
significant. If this is what the A Matter of Time: The Final
Hour era looks like, we are so ready for whatever Laufey does
next!
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