If you need proof that Taylor Swift has changed her ways, look no further than the contrast between the past few days and her behavior circa 2016. Amid rampant speculation about her relationship, friendships, and political views, Swift spent the weekend having fun in public.
On Thursday, Swift was in her now-customary VIP box at boyfriend Travis Kelce’s regular season opener with the Kansas City Chiefs. On Friday the couple dined out at Lucali in Brooklyn.
Come Saturday, the two attended supermodel Karen Elson and Electric Lady Studios owner Lee Foster’s wedding (in an off-white Zimmerman dress, no less), and on Sunday, Swift and Kelce headed to Queens for the U.S. Open, where they were anything but inconspicuous.
Swift, in a red and white linen dress from Reformation, sang and danced with a Gucci-clad Kelce, and even caught up with fellow NFL WAG Brittany Mahomes for a quick, headline-generating hug.
Swift, who is famously adept at staying out of the spotlight when she wants to, is defiantly living her life, having a good time where all of us can see it.
This is especially notable when you consider what she’s said in the past about feeling like she needed to go dark in response to public criticism. In her 2020 Netflix doc, Miss Americana, she described her 2016 disappearing act like this: “Nobody physically saw me for a year. That’s what I thought they wanted,” she said. “I had to deconstruct an entire belief system, toss it out, and reject it. It woke me up from constantly feeling I was fighting for people’s respect. It was happiness without anyone else’s input.”
Much was made of Swift sitting separately from Brittany Mahomes at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday, opting instead to root for the home team alongside Kelce’s parents, just as Brittany has come under fire for her political views: She apparently liked and then unliked an Instagram post from Donald Trump. The Republican presidential nominee took notice and thanked Brittany for her “support” in a recent social media post.
Swift has spoken out against Trump in the past, endorsing Joe Biden in 2020 while accusing Trump of “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency,” but has not voiced a stance on the 2024 election. Patrick Mahomes has declared himself the Switzerland of America, announcing that he will not publicly endorse a candidate but instead generally encourage people to vote. Brittany, apart from her liking and unliking and subsequent vague tweet pleas for everyone to just be nice, hasn’t issued a statement.
$2.50 $1 per month for 1 year + a free tote.
$2.50 $1 per month for 1 year + a free tote.
Subscribe Now
A source familiar with the pair’s friendship noted to Vanity Fair that people can have different political ideas or beliefs and still be friends.
Taylor Swift, Brittany Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Patrick Mahomes at the 2024 US Open.MediaPunch/Bauer-Griffin
