Inspired by Swift's insecurities, the lyrics focus on self-loathing and the impact of fame on her wellbeing; the bridge narrates a nightmare where her daughter-in-law murders her for her last will.

Music critics generally praised the catchy production and strong vocals of "Anti-Hero"; they deemed its lyricism candid and honest that showcased Swift at her most self-critical.

In the United States, it was Swift's ninth chart topper on the Billboard Hot 100, where it spent eight weeks at number one, and made her the first artist to have a number-one single on Radio Songs in the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s decades.

The video also reenacts the nightmare mentioned in the lyrics, starring Mike Birbiglia, John Early, and Mary Elizabeth Ellis as Swift's fictional sons and daughter-in-law.

At the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2022, Taylor Swift announced a new studio album, slated for release on October 21.

Bobby Hawk played additional violin, and his performance was recorded by John Gautier at Sound Hound Studios in Lakeland, Florida.

"Anti-Hero" explores Swift's publicity, fame, and personal issues; it marks a return to the autobiographical songwriting that she deviated from on the 2020 albums Folklore and Evermore.

[27] The track starts with Swift examining her flaws: "I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser",[27] which Carl Wilson from Slate described as a reflection on her early fame.

[27] The second verse has Swift discussing how her fame hinders her from having real, meaningful connections: "Sometimes I feel like everyone is a sexy baby/ And I'm the monster on the hill/ Too big to hang out/ Slowly lurching towards your favorite city/ Pierced through the heart but never killed;"[29][30] there were varied opinions about whether these lines conjectured an insult, a confession, or an exaggerated self-image, and some internet audiences said they potentially referred to the sitcom series 30 Rock.

[27][31] Lindsay Zoladz of The New York Times thought that the "sexy baby" lyric demonstrated the fetishization of female youth in the music industry.

[38] Variety's Chris Willman described her vocals in the last choruses as "out of breath",[35] and The Ringer's Rob Harvilla characterized them as "flustered, stammering".

[38] Jackson wrote that she sounded "weary" and, after she "[hisses]" the line "everybody agrees", "the song snaps back into place, its pep suddenly restored".

[29] Olivia Horn of Pitchfork described the single as an amalgamation of Swift's past albums, including "the lacquered synth-pop of 1989, the neurotic image analysis of Reputation, the dense lyricism of Folklore and Evermore".

[40] The production also received positive comments; Lindsay Zoladz of The New York Times called it "infectious",[32] and Willman said that the track had an "earworm hook" and praised Swift's delivery of the final refrains as confident and a display of a "master of tragicomic dramaturgy".

[35] The Guardian critic Alexis Petridis stated "Anti-Hero" offers "a litany of small-hours self-loathing", but sensed "an appealing confidence" in Swift's approach—that she "no longer feels she has to compete on the same terms as her peers.

[41] Carl Wilson of Slate highlighted the lyrics, praising "the image of a touring superstar as an unrelatable monster" and Evermore-inspired "vignette" in the bridge about her future children.

[42] Calling "Anti-Hero" the "musical and emotional heart" of Midnights, Rick Quinn of PopMatters praised its "infectious" beat, "earworm" rhythm, Swift's enunciation, and Antonoff's production.

[45] On October 16, Swift posted a short video on her social media accounts that depicted an itinerary of the events scheduled for the album launch, entitled Midnights Manifest.

[63] The music video for "Anti-Hero", written and directed by Swift, premiered via her Vevo channel on YouTube at 08:00 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on October 21, eight hours after the song's and album's release.

She opens the front door, revealing a second version of herself with her early-2010s appearance and a tour dance outfit, and they drink shots and sing the chorus together.

[65] A third, giant version of Swift crawls into a neighbor's dinner party during the second verse, whereupon a guest unsuccessfully tries to subdue her by shooting her in the shoulder with a bow and arrow.

The three attendees learn that Swift's last will and testament leaves them each with 13 cents and bequeaths her assets, including a beach house, to her cats Benjamin, Meredith and Olivia.

Believing their mother left a secret encoded message, because "that's what mom would always do", a reference to Swift's "Easter eggs", her children keep reading but find out their inheritance is exactly as stated.

Op-eds from publications such as The Guardian,[70] The Independent[71] and The Daily Telegraph,[72] and television shows like The View also sided with Swift, arguing that context is important, and given her history with an eating disorder, she should not have to "sanitize" her psychological trauma to make her art "digestible" for audiences.

Maya Georgi of NBC News questioned why Swift has "once again, let criticism control her actions" and why "did she not stand by the critique she was making with this scene".

Georgi also said that Swift was "boldly" demonstrating "the damage the rhetoric of valuing thinness and demonizing larger bodies has done to her", and that "it's not an easy thing to unlearn.

[77][78][79] Upon the release of Midnights, "Anti-Hero" earned over 17.4 million plays in its first 24 hours on Spotify globally, becoming the biggest opening day for a song in the platform's history.

[82] The single spent a total of eight weeks at the top spot of the Hot 100, surpassing "Blank Space" (2014) as Swift's longest-running number-one song.

[103] "Anti-Hero" was the ninth-most-streamed song of 2023 according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), with an equivalent of 1.31 billion global subscription streams.