Dave Grohl wears a black shirt and sings into a microphone. He plays a blue guitar.

Music

Fans Defend Dave Grohl’s Comments About Taylor Swift Performing Live

Dave Grohl made a joke about Taylor Swift's Eras Tour at a recent concert. Social media users have defended Grohl's comments.

by Emma McKee

Published on June 24, 2024

2 min read

Dave Grohl seemed to imply that Taylor Swift does not perform live

On June 22, 2024, both the Foo Fighters and Swift were in London. In the middle of the Foo Fighters concert, Grohl addressed the audience and referenced the other major tour happening in the city.

“Listen — tonight, this is my Eras Tour, OK? I’ve got a lot of eras,” he said, per People. “Spelled e-r-r-o-r-s. This is my ‘Errors Tour,’ how about that? That’s what we should’ve called this f***ing tour: The Errors Tour.”

Taylor Swift raises her arms in the air. She wears a bodysuit and stands in front of a pink and purple background. She holds a microphone in one hand.

Taylor Swift | Jo Hale/Redferns

Later in the show, Grohl further explained his remark.

“So, we like to call our tour the Errors Tour, because I feel like we’ve had more than a few eras and more than a few f***ing errors as well. Just a couple,” he said. “That’s because we play live. What? Just saying. We’re a live band! You guys like live rock ‘n’ roll music, right? You came to the right f***ing place.”

Unsurprisingly, Swift’s fans were quick to defend her, calling Grohl irrelevant and accusing him of using Swift’s name for publicity.

Social media users rushed to his defense

Swift’s fans have a reputation for mobilizing on her behalf. Many social media users defended Grohl in this situation, though. They pointed to the fact that Grohl may have reason for being upset with the artist. When his teenage daughter tweeted about Swift’s private jet usage earlier this year, she was harassed by Swift’s fans, reportedly receiving death threats.

Some pointed to the fact that Grohl was likely just referring to the fact that Swift uses backing tracks during her performances. While Swift does have a band, she uses backing tracks to provide layered vocals.

“His comment was a very very lightweighted joke about how his band — being a rock band — performs live and screw up sometimes,” one Reddit user posted. “Taylor’s show (to my knowledge) there is no band, there is a LOT of backing tracks and backing vocals. There is a lot less margin for error. It’s not saying one is better than another but it’s just the facts.”

Others pushed back at the refrain that Grohl was irrelevant, noting his many contributions to music with both Nirvana and the Foo Fighters.

Dave Grohl has spoken highly of Taylor Swift in the past

Several years before this, Swift and the Foo Fighters played the same festival in Norwich. Swift performed before the Foo Fighters, and Grohl spoke highly of her when he took the stage.