Back in 2015, a rumor involving Taylor Swift’s legs spread like wildfire on social media.
Taylor was preparing to embark on a world tour to promote her 1989 album — a quaint affair compared to the current Eras Tour. And it was reported that her team decided to take an extreme precaution.
The National Enquirer reported that the folks who bankrolled the tour also ensured Taylor’s legs for $40 million.
Taylor Swift performs onstage for the opening night of “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by John Medina/Getty Images)
The Rumor: Taylor Swift’s Legs Are Insured For $40 Million
It sounds insane. But given the amount of money that Taylor’s backers stood to make from the tour, it wasn’t totally implausible.
Of course, the Enquirer is not the most reliable source on these matters.
And it’s worth noting that there’s a long history of these “such-and-such celebrity’s most famous body part is insured for some outrageous sum of money” rumors.
Taylor Swift performs onstage for the opening night of “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Swift City, Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Usually, they turn out to be nothing more than fan speculation. Or a publicity stunt engineered by an ambitious PR professional.
So is that the case this time? Well, it’s tough to say.
Interestingly, Taylor has never confirmed or denied that her legs are worth eight figures.
No use on publication covers is permitted after August 9, 2023. Taylor Swift performs onstage for the opening night of “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
She did, however, joke about the situation on social media.
Taylor tweeted a photo of her leg with a long scratch running down it. The caption read:
“Great work Meredith. I was just trying to love you and now you owe me 40 million dollars.”
Taylor Swift performs on stage as part of her Eras Tour in Lisbon on May 24, 2024. (Photo by ANDRE DIAS NOBRE/AFP via Getty Images)
Our Conclusion: The Rumor Is Probably Bogus
The quip about her cat was an amusing way of acknowledging the rumors without having to comment on them more directly.
However, it led many of Taylor’s fans to conclude that the rumors were true. They reasoned that the singer didn’t want to confirm them for fear of seeming pampered and inaccessible.
But if we had to guess, we would say that Taylor’s legs are not currently insured, nor were they ever. At least not for such an outlandish amount of money.
As a recent article in The Hollywood Reporter points out, insured body part rumors have been a tabloid trope since the 1940s.
Taylor Swift performs onstage for the opening night of “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Some of the claims were semi-legit (Betty Grable’s legs were insured for $1 million, but the primary goal was to drum up publicity). Most, however, were baseless.
The fact is, there’s no record of an insurance policy for any body part of Taylor’s. And maintaining such an expensive policy would probably be a major pain in the … legs.
There was once a similar rumor about Julia Roberts’ smile. The actress shot down the reports, saying:
“If my smile was insured, there would be someone at my house on a nightly basis saying, ‘You need to floss longer.’”
We don’t know for sure that the leg rumor is inaccurate. But Taylor is a billionaire, and we can’t imagine her putting up with constant meddling from Allstate’s Celebrity Limb Division.
Are Taylor Swift’s Legs Really Insured For $40 Million Dollars? was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.