What if you just called Taylor up? Turns out, she’ll come on your talk show. Taylor Swift stopped by The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon on Oct. 6 to promote her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, and it felt just like reconnecting with an old friend. Plus, Swift opened up about why she isn’t performing in the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show.
Swift’s appearance was a highly sought after one, given that it marked her fated return to the forum of the American late night talk show since the 2022 release of her album Midnights. During the interview, Fallon introduced a game called “That’s So True,” inspired by the title of the hit single of Swift’s friend and previous Eras Tour opener Gracie Abrams. The challenge allowed Fallon to share rumors that have been circulating on social media about Swift and give Swift a chance to dispel, confirm, or elaborate on any rumor he positioned.
Of course, due to the swirling of attention on the relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce (Tayvis if you will), fans have been speculating on the possibility of her being the halftime performer for Super Bowl LX. Fallon asked a true or false question, “Taylor didn’t turn down the super bowl because of performance footage?” to which she shook her head and said, “No, no.”
“Here’s the thing,” Swift cleared the air. “Jay-Z has always been very good to me. Our teams are very close. They will call and say, ‘How does she feel about [the Super Bowl]?’” Then, she turned to the audience and clarified, “That’s not an official offer or conference room conversation.” (I love it when she talks business to me.)
Swift neither declined nor accepted the opportunity. “The truth is,” she said, pointing with emphasis at the ground in front of her, “I am in love with a guy who does that sport on the actual field.” As if writing beautiful poetry about the sport of football, she riffed, “That is violent chess. That is gladiators without swords. That is dangerous.”
As for whether she’d be able to focus on a performance, she emphasized, “I am locked in the whole season. I am locked in on what that man is doing on the field.” (It really is “So High School” of her to say). It’s true. Every time Taylor Swift’s been at a Chiefs game, she’s been incredibly locked in — either looking absolutely in love or nervous about Kelce’s safety.
Then, Swift jested, “Can you imagine if he’s out there every single week putting his life on the line doing this very dangerous, very high-pressure sport, and I’m like what should my choreo be?” She twirled her hair playfully, “I think we should do two verses of ‘Shake It Off’ into ‘Blank Space’ into ‘Cruel Summer.’ That would be great.”
After Jimmy Fallow played into the joke, pretending to be Travis Kelce, saying, “Let me have this one thing,” Swift laughed it off. She smiled with the glow of a newly-engaged girl who just wrote a chart-topping album, saying, “This has nothing to do with Travis. He would love for me to do it. I’m just too locked in.”
It’s safe to say Taylor Swift will not be performing at the Super Bowl Halftime Show until she knows her man is “safe and sound” in the audience, and that’s OK. I’ll just be watching Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Movie until then, and prepping for Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl debut.