At 7.20pm last Friday, after months of increasingly feverish speculation, the jumbo screens outside Madison Square Garden flashed the news: “JUST&T MARRIED”, and the nearby Empire State Building erupted in “something blue” sparkles, said Evan Moffitt in The Observer. Taylor Swift, Miss Americana, had tied the knot with her football-star boyfriend Travis Kelce at a ceremony described as the US’ royal wedding.
In advance of the event, several blocks around Penn Station had been blocked off to cars and pedestrians. The 1,000 guests – who included Tom Hanks, Gigi Hadid, Hugh Grant, Graham Norton, Lena Dunham and Steven Spielberg – rolled up in blacked-out SUVs. Most alighted in specially erected tent tunnels and, to the disappointment of the crowds of Swifties waiting in the 40°C heat, there were no sightings of the happy couple.
Private affair
It’s quite a feat to host a major event in a 22,000-capacity arena in the middle of New York City, on the 4th of July weekend, and keep it entirely private, said Megan Agnew in The Times. Swift’s publicists released a few details: the ceremony was officiated by Adam Sandler; bride and groom wore white Dior.
Beyond that, fans had only leaks and speculation to go on: the Garden had been transformed into “an enchanted garden”, with fake wisteria and white roses and acres of peach fabric; the vibe was “Alice in Wonderland meets The Wizard of Oz”; Paul McCartney and Stevie Nicks performed. The cost was estimated at $20 million.
Social media backlash
With an eye on the optics, Swift let it be known that they’d given $26 million to charities – but that didn’t stop the backlash, said Ryan Zickgraf on UnHerd. On social media, even some fans railed against the gaudy excesses of the event, while rumours that leftover cake had been distributed outside it led to Marie Antoinette jibes.
New York used to welcome billionaires, but rising prices and spiralling rents have fuelled intense resentment about the rich who just get richer. Swift is especially vulnerable to this, because she became a billionaire while presenting herself as “your awkward friend, writing in her diary”. That “parasocial magic becomes harder to sustain once the relatable girl with a guitar is visibly living like a Medici”.