Topline
Taylor Swift denied rumors that she had turned down an offer to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime show during her Monday night appearance on “The Tonight Show,” in an interview where she also discussed her engagement with NFL star Travis Kelce and her new album “Life of a Showgirl.”
Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift during an interview with host Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon.
Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images
Key Facts
The issue came up when the show’s host, Jimmy Fallon, began playing a “two truths and a lie” type game where Swift had to answer which of five online rumors about her were true, starting with speculation that she had turned down the Super Bowl offer “because the NFL wouldn’t allow” her to own the footage of her performance.
Swift only smiled when the question was brought up on the network broadcast version of the interview, but she went into more detail in an extended version posted on Fallon’s YouTube channel.
Swift told Fallon that her management always has conversations with Roc Nation—the live event company led by Jay-Z, which produces the Halftime show—about the Super Bowl, but there was never any formal offer.
“Jay-Z has always been very good to me — our [business] teams are really close…They sometimes will call and say, ‘How does she feel about [murmurs Superbowl]’ but that’s not like an official offer or a conference-room conversation.”
Swift then added that her team has always been able to tell Jay-Z “the truth, which is that I am in love with a guy who does that sport on that actual field.”
Crucial Quote
“That [football] is violent chess. That is gladiators without swords. That is dangerous…The whole season, locked in on what that man is doing on the field. Can you imagine…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?’” She then added, “This has nothing to do with Travis — he would love for me to do it. But I’m just too locked in.”
Tangent
Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny will headline the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime show on February 8, the NFL announced last week. While details about Bad Bunny’s performance are limited, the singer signaled he plans to honor his Puerto Rican heritage in a statement saying, “What I’m feeling goes beyond myself. It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture, and our history.” The choice of Bad Bunny, however, has triggered the ire of prominent right-wing figures due to the singer’s criticisms of President Donald Trump and the immigration raids carried out by his administration.
Further Reading
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Sparks Right-Wing Backlash Over Rapper’s Anti-ICE Activism (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/10/07/taylor-swift-addresses-rumor-about-turning-down-super-bowl-halftime-show/
