Taylor Swift turned the Kansas City Chiefs’ final game into a celebrity-spotting exercise when she invited a crowd of her high-profile friends to cheer on her new boyfriend Travis Kelce.
Their section at MetLife Stadium was bursting at the seams with Hollywood stars, including Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Sophie Turner.
The large number of celebrities in attendance led to NBC cutting to the singer 17 times during the broadcast during the Kansas City Chiefs’ game against the New York Jets in New Jersey.
And while the move pleased Swifties, die-hard NFL fans were not impressed with the move.
So who exactly is on Taylor’s squad? And how did she make these friendships? Web takes a look at the stars who have made up Taylor’s A-list circle.
You’re with me here: Taylor Swift turned the Kansas City Chiefs’ final game into a celebrity-spotting exercise by inviting a crowd of her high-profile friends to cheer on her new beau
Game day: The Hollywood stars cheered on Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce as his team won 23:20 against the New York Jets
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds
Although it’s not exactly clear when they first met, Taylor, 33, revealed in 2015 that she was friends with Gossip Girl star Blake Lively, 36, when she shared a snap of the pair hanging out at Warner Bros. Movie World theme park in Queensland shared during the Australian leg of Taylor’s 1989 tour.
At the time, Blake had been married to 46-year-old Ryan Reynolds for three years and they had welcomed their first daughter, James, the year before.
Blake had their second child, daughter Inez, in September 2016, and almost three years later, the couple secretly welcomed a third daughter named Betty in October 2019, although they did not publicly reveal her name at the time.
It wasn’t until the summer of 2020 that the parents gave Taylor the honor of revealing their daughter’s nickname to the world through her song Betty.
The hit was featured on their eighth studio album Folklore. Fans quickly put the pieces together after hearing the names of Blake and Ryan’s other two daughters in the song.
Ryan previously revealed that her children had no idea Taylor was famous after growing up with her in their lives.
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“And then one day they went to a concert and said, ‘Ohhhhh, this isn’t a hobby.'”
Fun Down Under: Taylor, 33, revealed she was friends with Gossip Girl star Blake Lively, 36, in 2015 when she shared a snap of the pair on a trip to Queensland
Double date: When Taylor met Blake, she had been married to Ryan Reynolds (right) for three years and they had welcomed their first daughter (Taylor is pictured with ex Tom Hiddleston)
Sophie Turner
In an unlikely turn of events, in 2019, Taylor became friends with 27-year-old Sophie Turner, who had just tied the knot with her ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas at the time.
The ladies bonded while sharing a sofa on The Graham Norton Show, where Sophie was asked about her recent marriage to Joe in Las Vegas and Taylor discussed her new single “Me!”
However, their friendship appears to have strengthened in recent weeks, and The Mail on Sunday understands that Tyalor has become an increasing source of support for the British actress after the end of her four-year marriage to Joe fell apart last month .
A friend said of their alliance: “Taylor and Sophie may not have been seen together much over the years, but a friendship has developed.” However, when Taylor realized what Sophie was going through, she wanted to lend her a shoulder to cry on.
“But Taylor isn’t stupid. She is fully aware that seeing the two together will attract a lot of attention and a lot of buzz. And the fact that their nickname ‘Saylor’ has now been coined means that they have become a thing.”
Taylor’s intervention not only signals to the world that she supports Sophie, but it will also be somewhat embarrassing for Joe, as he briefly dated her in 2008, when she was 18, before reportedly breaking up with her in a brief phone conversation .
She then wrote several breakup songs that were believed to be about him, including “Forever and Always”, “Mr Perfectly Fine”, “Better Than Revenge” and “Last Kiss”. However, they have long since made amends.
Meeting: Taylor became friends with Sophie Turner, who was then newly married to her ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas, in 2019 after the ladies met while sharing a sofa on the Graham Norton Show
Sabrina Carpenter
Disney star Sabrina Carpenter made no secret of her inspiration from Taylor early in her singing career, making her first YouTube video in 2009, a cover of Taylor’s “Picture to Burn.”
In an interview with Apple Music in 2020, Sabrina revealed that Taylor’s album Folklore inspired her own music.
She revealed: “Taylor Swift posted something when she released her new album describing when it was released and said: “Normally I would think too much about the songs that I’m going to put out and release. And I just feel like nothing’s happening.” I was sure now and so it just felt right and I wanted to do it.
“And that brought me to such a warm place where I could listen to all the songs that I’ve done with such a fresh perspective, like, ‘You know what, this is how I feel in the musical right now.'” “‘
The following year, Sabrina was on the invite list when Taylor sent a series of care packages to celebrities to mark the release of her album Red (Taylor’s Version).
They were then spotted hanging out together at several parties and music awards before Taylor made Sabrina’s “dreams come true” by choosing her as the opening act for the international leg of her Eras tour.
She tweeted: “Sweet angel princess @sabrinacarpenter will be at all the shows!” Swift wrote on social media at the time.
Sabrina replied: “I’m trying to process this, but unfortunately I can’t wait to take part in the ERAS TOUR IN LATIN AMERICA. Thank you @taylorswift u the 1 :’) This is a dream come true.”
Support: Taylor made Sabrina Carpenter’s “dreams come true” by choosing her as the opening act for the international leg of her Eras tour (pictured at the 2022 American Music Awards)
Hugh Jackman
While many assumed that Taylor was connected to Hugh Jackman through mutual friend Ryan Reynolds, the pair’s friendship goes back even further.
The pair have undoubtedly been seeing each other a lot more in recent months as Hugh worked on Ryan’s Deadpool 3, but he was first linked to Taylor nine years ago.
The couple met in 2014 when Taylor went to see the Australian actor in The River on Broadway.
After enjoying the show, she was invited backstage to meet the star, with Hugh sharing a snap of the pair hugging in his dressing room.
He captioned the picture: “Good to see @taylorswift13 and her family.” Happy Christmas Eve everyone xoxx’
Although it was the first time the two were pictured together, it’s possible they’ve met before.
According to rumors, Taylor was offered the role of Éponine in the 2012 film Les Misérables, in which Hugh starred as Jean Valjean.
The role ultimately went to West End star Samantha Barks, but if the rumors are true, Taylor and Hugh may have met in the early stages of the film.
Fancy seeing Hugh here: Taylor and Hugh Jackman met in 2014 when Taylor went to see the Australian actor in The River on Broadway
Antoni Porowski
Four years before Antoni Porowski became a household name as one of Queer Eye’s five superstars, he was already on Taylor’s radar.
The Canadian TV personality and chef crossed paths with the singer when he auditioned for the role of her lover in her Blank Space video in 2014.
He said of the process: “I auditioned for it as a waiter and got called back twice, between me and two other guys and at the audition.”
“I had to pretend I was running from the lion on the green screen – and I told her so.”
Unfortunately, Antoni missed out on the role modeling for Sean O’Pry, but five years later his efforts were rewarded when he was cast in Taylor’s star-studded 2019 music video “You Need to Calm Down” alongside co-stars Karamo Brown and Jonathan became Van Ness, Tan France and Bobby Berk.
The group all stayed in touch, and Taylor accompanied Antoni to Madonna’s final Madame X theater tour in Brooklyn later that year.
Intended: Antoni Porowski failed to audition for the role of Taylor’s lover in her 2014 video “Blank Space,” but was cast in Taylor’s star-studded music video “You Need to Calm Down” in 2019
Shawn Levy
Taylor worked with Canadian film director Shawn Levy when she cast him in All Too Well: The Short Film, a film adaptation of the 10-minute version of her song.
Shawn played the role of father to star Sadie Sink, whose relationship with Dylan O’Brien ultimately falls apart in the video.
Speaking about how his role came about, Shawn revealed: “Literally nothing I will ever do will cement my status as a father legend more than my Taylor Swift video appearance.”
Shawn, who has worked with Ryan Reynolds on several films, continued: “We have a lot of people in common, and when the video came out and I was asked to do a series of interviews, I literally said to Ryan, ‘Do it.’ I’ll explain how this came about? He says, “It’s cooler if you say less.”
“So I’m going to follow what my social media and culture advisor, Ryan Reynolds, tells me, and I’m going to keep it a little cryptic, a little mysterious.”
“All I have to say is that filming with Taylor that day was a blast, and if it made me even a little legend in the eyes of my four daughters, it will definitely have been worth it.”
While Shawn has nothing but praise for Taylor, he confessed that he would have rather spent the day working on Deadpool 3 with Ryan and Hugh Jackman than joining them at the NFL game.
Posting a video of the group at the game on Twitter, he noted that the WGA strikes had halted production, writing, “I’d rather make our movie, but until then, nights like this are enough.”
Cameo: Taylor worked with Canadian film director Shawn Levy when she cast him in All Too Well: The Short Film, a film adaptation of her song (right, starring Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink).
Who wasn’t at the game?
Not all of Taylor’s superstar friends were in attendance at the NFL game, including her best friend Selena Gomez. The couple’s paths first crossed in 2008 when Taylor met Joe Jonas and Selena was linked to Nick Jonas, eventually becoming close friends.
Gigi Hadid is another close friend of Taylor. The couple was first photographed together in March 2014 at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party alongside Ireland Baldwin and Jaime King.
Taylor’s pal Ed Sheeran was undoubtedly too busy promoting his new album Autumn Variations to make it. The pair’s friendship began in 2012 when they collaborated on the song “Everything Has Changed,” and Ed previously said that he feels like Taylor is “one of the few people who really understands where I’m at right now.” .
Lena Dunham struck up a friendship with Taylor in 2012 when she tweeted her love for the Red album, which prompted Taylor to rave about her TV show Girls. They met in person at the Grammys the following year and became so close that Taylor served as a bridesmaid at Lena’s wedding to musician Luis Felber.
When Lena broke up with musician Jack Antonoff, with whom Taylor had already worked several times, it was no cause for embarrassment for her. She attended his wedding to Margaret Qualley in August and recently gushed that she and Jack will “continue to make music until 2089.”
Couldn’t be there: Not all of Taylor’s superstar friends were in attendance at the NFL game, including her best friend Selena Gomez
Close Friends: Gigi Hadid is another close friend of Taylor. The couple were first photographed together at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2014 and remain friends to this day
Old friends: Taylor’s pal Ed Sheeran was undoubtedly too busy promoting his new album Autumn Variations to make it. The couple’s friendship began in 2012
A long time ago: Lena Dunham struck up a friendship with Taylor in 2012 when she tweeted her love for the Red album, which prompted Taylor to rave about her TV show Girls (pictured in 2015).
Still close: There was no awkwardness when Lena split from musician Jack Antonoff, with whom Taylor has worked on several collaborations