Taylor Swift’s presence at Super Bowl LIX took an unexpected turn when she appeared on the Jumbotron, only to be met with loud boos from Philadelphia Eagles fans. The pop star, 35, seemed taken aback by the reaction, turning to her friend Ice Spice to ask, “What’s going on?” The Kansas City Chiefs players also faced jeers as they entered the stadium, adding to the charged atmosphere at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome.
The kickoff game ended badly for the Kansas City Chiefs as they lost their first game to the Philadelhpia Eagles since 2018. On their way to a hattrick record, they fell short. Fans were disheartened and even expressed their discontent with Lamar’s performance at the Halftime show.
Swift, attending the game in support of her boyfriend Travis Kelce, watched from a private suite alongside Ice Spice, the Haim sisters, Ashley Avignone, and her family. While the moment caught her off guard, her friend and tennis legend Serena Williams was quick to defend her online, taking to X to support the singer. Serena’s performance also came as a surprise to the audience as she joined Kendrick and SZA in their performance.
The Grammy award winner has previously addressed the intense media scrutiny surrounding her NFL appearances. In a TIME interview from December 2023, Swift admitted she never knows when she’s being shown on the broadcast. “There’s a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don’t know where it is,” she said. “I don’t know if I’m being shown 17 times or once.”
As a response to this event, US President, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social saying that Swift’s night was “worser than the Chiefs”. Going beyond the realm of the game, their feud extends to their clash in ideologies where the pop-icon openly voiced her support for Kamala Harris, Trump’s opponent in the presidential election. Moreover, Trump voiced his “hate” for Swift in a public comment on his social media platform which caused quite an online uproar.
Despite the crowd’s mixed reaction, Swift remained focused on cheering for Kelce and the Chiefs, who ultimately fell short in the championship game with the Eagles registering their win at the Super Bowl since 2018. The incident has since sparked debate online, with fans and critics discussing whether the backlash was rooted in sports rivalry or something more personal.
