Taylor Swift skips 78th Emmys, joins Tom Cruise at first Chiefs game since marrying Travis Kelce

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: Taylor Swift skipped the 78th Emmy Awards ceremony on Monday, September 14, despite ‘The Eras Tour: The Final Show’ getting five nominations. However, the pop icon was spotted at the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos match at Arrowhead Stadium on the same day. 

The appearance marked her first Chiefs game attendance since marrying football tight end Travis Kelce on July 3 at Madison Square Garden. The ‘Love Story’ singer was spotted sitting next to Tom Cruise, who also attended her star-studded wedding, while cheering on her husband, Kelce.

Taylor Swift joins Tom Cruise to cheer on Travis Kelce at Chiefs vs Broncos game

Nearly two months after tying the knot with Kelce, Swift reunited with her prominent wedding guest, Cruise, at Arrowhead Stadium to support her husband as the Chiefs faced the Broncos in a season-opening matchup on Monday Night Football. 

Videos surfacing on X (formerly Twitter) showed Swift sitting beside Cruise at the VIP suite. The pop star was also seen chatting with the ‘Mission Impossible’ star during the first quarter of the match while cheering for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Cruise’s public show of support for Swift and Kelce comes after several attendees at the couple’s Madison Square Garden wedding confirmed the ‘Top Gun’ actor’s presence at the ceremony. SNL star Marcello Hernandez even called him the “most surprising” guest at the event.

“The most surprising thing I saw at the wedding was Tom Cruise,” Hernandez shared during an appearance on ‘Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,’ adding, “I got to talk to Tom Cruise, and he grew up in a house full of women, and we got to relate about that.”

Sports commentator Joe Buck also gushed about meeting Cruise at Swift and Kelce’s wedding. “Being 57 years old, to get to talk to Tom Cruise for 20 minutes was better than any part of the entire night to me, other than watching them get married,” he shared. 

Former NFL tight end Greg Olsen also opened up about a memorable interaction with Cruise at the wedding. The athlete was reportedly waiting in line for the restroom when he heard someone compliment his hat, saying, “Hey, hey... dude, I love your hat,” only to realize it was Cruise.

“I was like, 'Thank you, man. How nice is it to meet you, Tom Cruise,” a starstruck Olsen shared after Kelce and Swift’s lavish wedding.

Taylor Swift makes surprise cameo in ‘Law & Order: SVU’ spoof at 78th Emmys

Swift’s concert film, ‘The Eras Tour: The Final Show,’ received five nominations at the 2026 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded), Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special, Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming, and Outstanding Technical Direction and Camerawork for a Special, with the pop star herself getting a nomination for Outstanding Variety Special, due to her role as a producer.  

However, the category winner was already announced at the Creative Arts Emmys last week, with Swift getting zero wins and ‘The Muppet Show’ taking top honors. Therefore, it was already likely that the ‘Midnights’ creator would skip Monday’s Emmy Awards ceremony, irrespective of her attendance at the Chiefs’ game. 

Although Swift missed the ceremony in-person, she made a surprise cameo appearance in a pre-taped ‘Law & Order: SVU’ spoof alongside Mariska Hargitay. Swift’s cat Olivia Benson, named after Hargitay’s character from the show, also appeared in the sketch. 

In the spoof, Hargitay and her SVU co-stars, including rapper-and-actor Ice-T, who plays Sgt. Odafin “Fin” Tutuola, teamed up to find an answer to the question “Will Taylor Swift be at the Emmys?”

Swift then appeared at the scene, playing a rookie, and suggested that the answer to the question might be hiding in plain sight. She proceeded to offer four clues, namely “Saccharide. Aries. From the Vineyard. North or South.”

After further brainstorming, Hargitay’s Olivia Benson pointed out that the Chiefs would be facing off against the Broncos, the same day as the Emmy ceremony. In response, Aime Donna Kelly, who plays Captain Renee Curry, joked, “OK then she’s not gonna be there, ’cause her husband’s got a work thing,” potentially solving the parody “case.”