Taylor Swift ‘Embarrassed’ By Booing at Super Bowl, Body Language Expert Says: ‘Hit a Nerve’
That booing at the Super Bowl “hit a nerve” for Taylor Swift. According to a body language expert, the “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” singer went through all sorts of emotions— “shock, disbelief and feeling pretty embarrassed”—as crowds booed her. She even put on a “fake smile” but there was very much “real emotion” from the pop star.
Taylor Swift gets booed at Super Bowl LIX
Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, 2025, included a confusing moment for Swift, who watched from a VIP suite at Ceasars Superdome in New Orleans, La., as her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs ultimately failed at a “three-peat” attempt against the Philadelphia Eagles. (The final score: 40-22.)
When she appeared on the jumbotron—wearing a white top and denim shorts—fans began booing. Swift reacted with some major side-eye and a smile—plus a question, according to a lip-reading expert—which quickly went viral on social media, as she was joined in the suite by rapper Ice Spice, Ashley Avignone, her brother Austin, the Haim sisters Este, Danielle, and Alana, and Kelce’s parents Donna and Ed.
The booing caught Taylor ‘off guard,’ according to a body language expert
Although Swift quickly went viral for the side eye and smile she threw rapper Ice Spice when the crowd booed, body language expert Darren Stanton said, speaking on behalf of Slingo, there was a lot more to the Grammy winner’s reaction.
When the crowd started booing, Stanton explained, “Taylor’s eyes open wide. Initially, we see a combination of shock, disbelief, and feeling pretty embarrassed. She tries to laugh it off but it’s clearly caught her off guard and hit a nerve.”
Ice Spice, a friend and collaborator of Swift’s who joined her at the Super Bowl in 2024, tried to “help her get past the awkward moment as quickly as possible.” Then came Swift’s smile, which the body language expert described as “the most fake smile.”
“This is a masking gesture,” Stanton said. “In the short response, she shows a massive masking smile. These are normal, genuine reactions from Taylor, it’s real emotion and she does absolutely feel embarrassed here.”
The “Fortnight” singer tucked her chin, “an indicator she wants to make herself physically smaller” and is “feeling internally affected.”
“It’s something people do to help them feel less stressed,” the expert added.
Travis Kelce had a look of ‘concern’ when the crowd booed Swift
As for Kelce’s reaction, body language expert Judi James told The Sun it “must’ve affected him” as he witnessed the moment from the sidelines.
“You saw him glancing occasionally, especially when the booing started. It must’ve affected him,” the expert said. “He has always come across as [a] very protective gentleman when it comes to Taylor.”
Kelce, James continued, “looked over with a look of some concern,” when the crowd started booing. “To hear her get booed and being close to losing a very important match—it was probably close to too much for him, honestly.”
So much that the NFL star appeared “very close to tears.” Meanwhile, his facial expression “looked like one of thwarted concern—there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t run off the pitch [British slang for field] and comfort her or protect her,” which added to Kelce’s “signals of misery.”
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