Taylor Swift has discussed why she turned down the Super Bowl’s Halftime Show, saying that “it has nothing to do with Travis”.
- READ MORE: Taylor Swift – ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ review: magical when the songwriter just lets herself be
The singer is currently engaged to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, where she’s made a number of appearances at games to support her fiancée. Swift helped last year’s Super Bowl become the most-watched US broadcast since the moon landing.
However, despite rumours that the singer could headline this year’s Halftime Show, it was revealed Bad Bunny was to play instead – with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell saying the popstar was “welcome at any time”.
Now, Swift has revealed the reason why she turned down the prestigious gig on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, denying that it was over footage rights. “Here’s the thing – Jay-Z has always been very good to me, our teams are very close,” she explained. The rapper’s company Roc Nation programs the Super Bowl, and Swift says they will occasionally call her and ask her thoughts on how she feels about performing at the Super Bowl.
“That’s not, like, an official offer or a conference-room conversation, more, ‘How does she feel about it in general?’”, she continued. “And we’re always able to tell him the truth, which is that I am in love with a guy who does that sport on that actual field. Like, [professional football] is violent chess. That is gladiators without swords. That is dangerous. I am, [for] the whole season, locked in on what that man is doing on the field.”
Swift went on to add: “Can you imagine if he’s out there every single week, putting his life on the line, doing this very dangerous, very high-pressure, high-intensity sport, and I’m like, ‘I wonder what my choreo should be? I think we should do two verses of “Shake It Up,” into “Blank Space,” into “Cruel Summer,” that would be great!’”
“This has nothing to do with Travis,” Swift concluded. “He would love for me to do it, but I’m just too locked in.” Watch the moment at the 18 minute 20 second mark:
This is not the first time Swift has rejected offers to play the Halftime Show. The popstar reportedly turned down a request to play the Halftime Show in 2023, with TMZ and People reporting the singer was more focused on continuing to re-record her back catalogue.
When the singer was reported to be dating Travis Kelce in 2023, the NFL commented that they were “very happy” with their relationship. However, the NFL’s coverage of Swift attracted criticism from fans, with Kelce going on to admit that they were “overdoing it a little bit” with their attention on his relationship with Swift.
Though the NFL defended their coverage, saying they had “seen an incredible amount of positivity around the sport”, Swift would be booed at aggressively at the Super Bowl – with her reaction going viral.
Swift would later poke fun at “male sports fans” on Travis’ podcast with his brother Jason, New Heights – and surprise NFL players with a performance of ‘Shake It Off’ at Travis’ training camp kick off this year.
Elsewhere, Taylor Swift has released her twelfth studio album ‘The Life Of A Showgirl‘ last Friday (October 3).
‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ reportedly sold 2.7million copies in its first 24 hours and broke the Spotify record for the most-streamed album on the platform in a single day in 2025, with ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ becoming the most-streamed song in a single day in Spotify history.
NME rated the album three stars, writing that “for the first time, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ sees Swift not catalysed into artistic growth by love, but merely comfortably secured by it.”
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