Where is Taylor Swift? The keys to her public disappearance

Taylor Swift has been making headlines for years, but over the past two, she’s confirmed that she’s one of the most important artists of the 21st century. The Eras Tour became the highest-grossing tour in history. The numbers are staggering: 22 months of touring, 149 concerts — three of them, in Vienna (Austria), had to be canceled due to the threat of a terrorist attack — 10 million spectators, and $2 billion in revenue. In almost two years, Swift took her music, her story, and her more than three-hour concert to almost the entire world. Every step she took was newsworthy, even annoying to those who aren’t fans. And then, suddenly, she disappeared.

The singer-songwriter wrapped up her tour in Vancouver, Canada, on December 8: 123 days have passed since that date, and in that time, she’s only been seen on seven occasions, and only once professionally: four of them to show support for her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, during the New Year’s football games; two more at dinner in New York; and, most importantly, at the Grammy Awards. Furthermore, she hasn’t updated her social media accounts since December 12, leading many people to wonder: where is Taylor Swift and what’s the reason for her unexpected withdrawal from the public eye?

Her fans, accustomed to looking for “Easter eggs” in each of her appearances, have mooted various theories: rest, working on a new album, spending time with her partner... and, the most repeated, the imminent release of the re-recording of Reputation, one of the last “stolen” albums she has left to release, and one of the most significant of her career. Her sixth studio album, which was released in 2017 — and which she announced overnight after months away from the spotlight — is inspired by her personal history and how she dealt with criticism following her public conflict with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.

This theory also ties in with the fact that if she doesn’t release an album in the coming months, it will be the first time in six years that she hasn’t been nominated for a Grammy Award. Furthermore, the deadline for the release of her albums Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version) and Reputation (Taylor’s Version) is next August, after she was granted permission to use both names.

“Taylor is simply enjoying some alone time with Travis and being under the radar for a little bit,” a source close to the artist told U.S. outlet Page Six. Since her historic tour ended, the couple has taken a vacation outside the United States — the destination is unknown, but there is talk of Europe and some paradisiacal locations. “They both want to rest and unwind. Neither of them has any important commitments ahead,” another source noted.

These first few months of the year were expected to confirm their status as one of the most-watched couples in the United States. During awards season and sports finals, many rumors were predicting that Swift and Kelce would star in their first official red carpet photoshoot after a year and a half of romance. Something that hasn’t happened so far, and recent, unfortunate events in their respective fields of work could be the reason: the Kansas City Chiefs lost the Super Bowl final to the Philadelphia Eagles in a resounding defeat; a week earlier, the singer walked away empty-handed at the Grammys despite being nominated in six categories.

What many have dubbed “a black week” didn’t end there. During the Super Bowl, which drew more than 120 million viewers in the United States alone, the Pennsylvania native was booed just as the cameras focused on her. Her face displayed three emotions at once: surprise, laughter, and anger. There were two possible reasons behind this crowd reaction: blaming her for the Chiefs’ poor performance, as if she were on the field; and Trump supporters — with the U.S. president in the stadium, a unique occurrence at the NFL showpiece — expressing their rejection of the singer’s endorsement of Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential race.

The singer’s disappearance is not only of concern to her fans, who are already clamoring for a new release — April 19 marks one year since her last one — because in recent years, Swift has been spoiling them by releasing up to two re-recordings within a few months of each other. Last Monday, April 7, poet Kimberly Marasco explained in an interview with Newsweek that she was having serious difficulties locating the singer and serving her with a notice of a lawsuit for alleged plagiarism, in which she is seeking $30 million. Marasco claims that — despite the claim having been dismissed once — the artist and her team copied her work in songs and videos for Lover, Folklore, Midnights, and The Tortured Poets Department; as well as in choreography on The Eras Tour.

In recent months, the Shake It Off singer has also been unwittingly drawn into the public feud between her former friend Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, after the actress sued her It Ends with Us co-star for sexual harassment. The film’s director also accused Lively of using the influence of her entourage [Swift and the actress’ husband, Ryan Reynolds] to control the project’s creative process. He claims that he was invited to their New York penthouse to go over the script and propose further modifications, and that upon arrival, he found the singer and the actor there, whom the lawsuit refers to as “The Dragons,” a reference to Game of Thrones. Unwittingly, Swift became part of a confrontation that will reach court in 2026. Sources close to the singer have told U.S. media that she felt “used” because her name was being “taken advantage of.” But in recent days, things seem to have calmed down, and Swift, according to Page Six, apologized: “It was important to Blake to get back on good terms with Taylor. It was never her intention to hurt her or damage their friendship,” said a source.

Over two months since her last public appearance, 119 days since her last Instagram post — she has only reappeared on stories to send a message of support to the victims of the Los Angeles fires and to promote the album of one of her best friends, Selena Gomez — 149 days since her last message on X, 181 days since her last TikTok, 293 days since her last single, and 436 days since her last announcement. Perhaps, after one of her busiest years of work, Taylor Swift simply needed a break from everything and everyone. And she has plenty of money in the bank to do so.

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