Taylor Swift has finally addressed rumours about declining the Super Bowl halftime show during a new interview on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
The pop superstar appeared on the late-night programme to discuss her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, which she described as carrying around “for a year” like “a really great Christmas present”. When Fallon presented the rumour that Swift turned down the halftime show because the NFL wouldn’t allow her to own performance footage, Swift offered her explanation.
“Here’s the thing: Jay-Z has always been very good to me,” she began, referencing Roc Nation’s role in producing the halftime show. “Our teams are really close. They sometimes will call and say, ‘How does she feel about [the Super Bowl]?’ And that’s not like an official offer or like a conference room conversation.”
Swift 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. That is violent chess. That is gladiators without swords. That is dangerous.
“The whole season I am locked in on what that man is doing on the field. Can you imagine that he’s out there every single week, like 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?'”
The Grammy winner emphasised that her decision has “nothing to do with Travis” personally, noting that “he would love for me to do it. I’m just too locked in.”
Watch the interview below.
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Last week, Bad Bunny was officially announced as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime performer, taking the stage during the championship game between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers.
The announcement sparked backlash from right-wing figures including Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski and South Dakota governor Kristi Noem, who bizarrely claimed that ICE agents would be “all over” the Santa Clarita venue during the February event.
During his opening monologue on last weekend’s Saturday Night Live, Bad Bunny said: “I’m very excited to be doing the Super Bowl. And I know that people all around the world who love my music are also happy.” Switching briefly into Spanish, he continued, “…Especially all the Latinos and Latinas in the whole world, and here in the United States, all the people who have worked to open doors, more than I have achieved, who have achieved everything, demonstrating that our way, our carrying of this country, no one can ever remove nor erase.”
He wrapped up with a smirk, and one parting jab in English: “And if you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.”
