Taylor Swift turned the latest Kansas City Chiefs game into a celeb spotting exercise as she invited a host of her A-list mates to cheer on her new boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
Her section at MetLife Stadium was bursting at the seams with Hollywood stars, including the likes of Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Sophie Turner.
The amount of celebrities in attendance meant that during Kansas City Chiefs game against New York Jets in New Jersey, NBC cut to the singer 17 different times during its broadcast.
And while the move delighted Swifties, diehard NFL fans weren’t impressed by the move.
So who exactly is in Taylor’s squad? And how did she form these friendships? MailOnline takes a look at the stars who have formed Taylor’s A-list circle.
You belong up here with me: Taylor Swift turned the latest Kansas City Chiefs game into a celeb spotting exercise as she invited a host of her A-list mates to cheer on her new boyfriend
Game day: The Hollywood A-listers cheered on Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce as his team won 23-20 to New York Jets
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds
While it’s not clear exactly when they first met, Taylor, 33, revealed she was friends with Gossip Girl star Blake Lively, 36, in 2015 when she shared a snap of the pair hanging out at the Warner Bros. Movie World theme park in Queensland during the Australian leg of Taylor’s 1989 tour.
At the time, Blake had been married to Ryan Reynolds, 46, for three years and they’d welcomed their first daughter James the year before.
Blake welcomed their second child, daughter Inez, in September 2016 and nearly three years later, the married pair secretly welcomed a third daughter named Betty in October 2019 but they did not reveal her name publicly at the time.
It was not until the summer of 2020 that the parents gave Taylor the honor of revealing their daughter’s moniker to the world through her song Betty.
The hit was featured on her 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 their children had no clue Taylor was famous after growing up with her in their lives.
He admitted on Sirius XM: ‘I think what’s most exciting for them is that for the longest time they just thought Taylor’s just like an aunt, like a friend of Mommy and Daddy that’s very, very close, almost family.
‘And then they went to a concert one day and were like, “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 hanging out in Queensland
Double date: When Taylor met Blake she had been married to Ryan Reynolds (right) for three years and they’d welcomed their first daughter (Taylor is pictured with ex Tom Hiddleston)
Sophie Turner
In an unlikely turn of events, Taylor became friends with Sophie Turner, 27, in 2019, who had then just tied the knot with her ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas.
The ladies bonded while sharing a sofa on The Graham Norton show, where Sophie was quizzed about her recent Vegas marriage to Joe and Taylor discussed her new single Me!
In recent weeks, however, their friendship seems to have ramped up and The Mail on Sunday understands that Tyalor has become an increasing support to the British actress after the end of her four-year marriage to Joe turned sour last month.
Of their alliance, a friend said: ‘Taylor and Sophie may not have been seen together much over the years but there has been a friendship there. However, once Taylor realised what Sophie was going through she wanted to lend her a shoulder to cry on.
‘Taylor isn’t silly though. She is absolutely aware that if the two of them are seen together it will attract a lot of attention and a lot of column inches. And the fact that their moniker ‘Saylor’ has now been coined means that they have become a thing.’
As well as indicating to the world that she is backing Sophie, Taylor’s intervention will be somewhat embarrassing for Joe, because he briefly dated her in 2008 when she was 18, before he reportedly broke up with her in a brief phone call.
She went on to pen several break-up songs thought to be about him, including Forever and Always, Mr Perfectly Fine, Better Than Revenge and Last Kiss. They have long since made amends, however.
Meeting: Taylor became friends with Sophie Turner in 2019, who had then just wed with her ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas after the ladies bonded while sharing a sofa on The Graham Norton show
Sabrina Carpenter
Disney star Sabrina Carpenter made no secret of the fact she was inspired by Taylor when she began her singing career, making her very first YouTube video in 2009 a cover of Taylor’s Picture to Burn.
In a 2020 interview with Apple Music, Sabrina revealed Taylor’s album Folklore inspired her own music.
She revealed: ‘Taylor Swift posted something when she released her new album in the description of when it dropped and saying like, “I usually would overthink the songs that I’m going to put out and release. And I just feel like nothing is certain right now and so it just felt right and I wanted to do it.”
‘And that put me in such a good warm-hearted place where then I could listen to all these songs that I’ve been making with such a fresh perspective of like, “You know what, this is how I feel right now in musical form.”‘
The following year, Sabrina found herself on the invite list when Taylor sent a bunch of celebrities care packages to mark the release of her Red (Taylor’s Version) album.
They were then spotted hanging out at several parties and music awards together before Taylor made Sabrina’s ‘dreams come true’ by choosing her to open for her on the international leg of her Eras tour.
She tweeted: ‘Sweet angel princess @sabrinacarpenter will be joining us on all of the shows!” Swift wrote on social media at the time.’
Sabrina responded: ‘trying to process this but alas i shant CANT WAIT TO JOIN THE ERAS TOUR IN LATIN AMERICA thank u @taylorswift u the 1 :’) this is a dream come true.’
Support: Taylor made Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘dreams come true’ by choosing her to open for her on the international leg of her Eras tour (pictured at the 2022 American Music Awards)
Hugh Jackman
While many assumed that Taylor was linked to Hugh Jackman through mutual friend Ryan Reynolds, the pair’s friendship goes back further.
The pair have no doubt seen a lot more of each other in recent months as Hugh works on Ryan’s Deadpool 3, but he was first linked to Taylor nine years ago.
The pair met in 2014 when Taylor went to watch the Australian actor in The River play 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 image: ‘lovely to see @taylorswift13 and her family. Merry Christmas Eve to all xoxx’
While it was the first time the pair were pictured together it’s possible they met even earlier.
Taylor was rumoured to have been offered the role of Éponine in the 2012 film Les Misérables, which Hugh starred in as Jean Valjean.
The role ultimately went to West End star Samantha Barks but if the rumours are true then 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 watch the Australian actor in The River play on Broadway
Antoni Porowski
Four years before Antoni Porowski became a household name as one of Queer Eye’s fab five he was already on Taylor’s radar.
The Canadian TV personality and cook crossed paths with the singer when he auditioned to play her lover in her 2014 Blank Space video.
He said of the process: ‘I auditioned for that when I was a waiter and I got called back twice and it was between me and two other guys and in the audition.
‘I had to pretend like I was running away from the lion in the green screen – and I told her that.’
Sadly, Antoni missed out on the role to model Sean O’Pry, but five years later his efforts were rewarded when he was cast in Taylor’s star-studded You Need to Calm Down music video in 2019, alongside co-stars Karamo Brown, Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France and Bobby Berk.
The group all stayed in touch, with Taylor joining Antoni for Madonna’s final Madame X theater tour show in Brooklyn later that year.
Meant to be: Antoni Porowski failed the audition to play Taylor’s lover in her 2014 Blank Space video but was cast in Taylor’s star-studded You Need to Calm Down music video 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 had a blink-and-you-miss-it role playing the father of star Sadie Sink whose relationship with Dylan O’Brien ultimately falls apart in the video.
Speaking about how his part came to be, Shawn revealed: ‘Literally nothing I will ever do will cement my dad-legend status more than my Taylor Swift video cameo.’
Shawn, who has worked with Ryan Reynolds on several films, continued: ‘We have a lot of people in common and literally, when the video came out, and I was asked to do a bunch of interviews, I said to Ryan, “Do I explain how it came to be?” He’s like, “It’s cooler if you say less.”
‘So I’m going to go with what my social media and culture advisor, Ryan Reynolds, tells me and I’m going to keep it a little cryptic, a little mysterious.
‘I will just say that, that day shooting with Taylor was a blast and if it made me just a little bit of a legend in the eyes of my four daughters, it will have been well worth it.’
While Shawn has nothing but praise for Taylor, he confessed that he would have rather have spent the day working on Deadpool 3 with Ryan and Hugh Jackman instead of joining them at the NFL game.
Taking to Twitter to share a video of the group at the game he referenced how the WGA strikes had halted production as he penned: ‘I’d rather be shooting our movie, but til then, nights like this’ll do.’
Cameo: Taylor worked with Canadian film director Shawn Levy when she cast him in All Too Well: The Short Film, a film adaptation ofher song (right, with 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 pal Selena Gomez. The pair first crossed paths in 2008 when Taylor was seeing Joe Jonas and Selena was linked to Nick Jonas and they ended up becoming close pals as a result.
Gigi Hadid is another one of Taylor’s close friends, with the pair first photographed together in March 2014 at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party alongside Ireland Baldwin and Jaime King.
Taylor’s pal Ed Sheeran was no doubt 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 the he feels like Taylor is ‘one of the only people that actually truly understands where I’m at.’
Lena Dunham struck up a friendship with Taylor in 2012 when she tweeted her love of the Red album, prompting Taylor to gush over her TV show, Girls. They met in person the following year at the Grammys and got so close that Taylor served as bridesmaid in Lena’s wedding to musician Luis Felber.
There was no awkwardness when Lena broke up with musician Jack Antonoff, who Taylor has worked with on several collaborations. She attended his wedding to Margaret Qualley in August and recently gushed that she and Jack ‘will continue making music until 2089.’
Couldn’t make it: Not all of Taylor’s superstar friends were in attendance at the NFL game, including her best pal Selena Gomez
Firm friends: Gigi Hadid is another one of Taylor’s close friends, with the pair first photographed together in 2014 at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party and they have remained friends
Old pals: Taylor’s pal Ed Sheeran was no doubt too busy promoting his new album Autumn Variations to make it. The pair’s friendship began in 2012
Way back when: Lena Dunham struck up a friendship with Taylor in 2012 when she tweeted her love of the Red album, prompting Taylor to gush over her TV show, Girls (pictured in 2015)
Still close: There was no awkwardness when Lena broke up with musician Jack Antonoff, who Taylor has worked with on several collaborations
