Taylor Swift may be a global pop superstar, but every now and then, she can be a little, well, awkward — just like the rest of us. Unlike us, though, celebrities spend a lot of their time in the public eye. Swift has been a sensation ever since her debut album took off in 2006, which means plenty of her awkward moments have been captured on camera.
Luckily, Swift has always handled these moments with grace and humor; in fact, she is almost always able to laugh off the gaffes she’s made in public. And when other people make things awkward for her? Well, she isn’t afraid to call them out on it. We could all learn a thing or two from Swift’s ability to bounce back after enduring uncomfortable situations.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at Taylor Swift’s cringiest moments ever caught on camera — plus how she dealt with them.
‘Taylor Smith, everyone!’
It’s hard to imagine anyone in the world not knowing the name Taylor Swift. After all, the pop star has been absolutely everywhere — on a record-breaking tour, dating one of the biggest sports stars in the world, on the cover of Time. However, a few years ago, Swift’s name was, apparently, a little less well-known — at least to one person.
While on the red carpet at the American Country Music Awards in 2012, Swift spoke with an interviewer about her nominations for Best Video, Best Female Performer, and Best Entertainer. When it came time for the interviewer to do a sign-off, she made an embarrassing error. “Congratulations, have a wonderful time tonight, Taylor,” she said, before turning to the camera and saying, “Taylor Smith, everyone!” Swift is next be seen waving at the camera before her smile awkwardly freezes as she hears the interviewer get her name wrong. She looks away to laugh in confusion with someone offscreen. As the interviewer keeps talking to the camera, Swift continues giggling in the background.
This moment may be awkward for everyone involved, but it’s also become pretty iconic. As one person commented, “This never gets old.”
Kanye West interrupted her VMA win in 2009
Ah yes, the awkward moment to end all awkward moments — when Kanye West infamously interrupted Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech at the 2009 VMAs. It’s safe to say that everyone remembers this cringe-worthy moment in pop culture history. Nevertheless, we’ll refresh your memory.
While Swift delivered her acceptance speech, West appeared on stage, grabbed her microphone, and said, “Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’mma let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.” The camera cut to Beyoncé, who seemed mortified in the audience, and Swift standing awkwardly and looking crestfallen. The audience proceeded to boo the rapper, and West went on to hand the microphone back to a very stunned Swift.
Swift has since spoken about just how awful the awkward moment was for her. “At the time I didn’t know they were booing him doing that,” she confessed in her documentary “Miss Americana” (via Glamour). “I thought they were booing me. For someone who’s built their whole belief system on getting people to clap for you, the whole crowd booing is a pretty formative experience.”
She was asked about going home with men
Let’s face it — the media hasn’t always treated female celebrities with respect. Everyone from Scarlett Johansson to Britney Spears has had to deal with sexist questions from reporters. And Taylor Swift is no different. In 2015, Swift was faced with a particularly misogynistic question during an interview at the Grammys.
“You’re going to walk home with more than maybe just a trophy tonight, I think lots of men,” Entertainment Tonight’s Nancy O’Dell told Swift, who looked shocked by the comment. “I’m not going to walk home with any men tonight,” she said firmly. “I’m going to go hang out with my friends and then go home to the cats.” She added with a stifled laugh, “Men get me in trouble.” Yikes.
As one viewer commented on YouTube, “How unprofessional and low of the interviewer, and how classy of Taylor. The way she handled that situation shows how mature she is.” Trust Swift to handle an awkward moment like this with so much grace!
Taylor Swift was captured high on pain medication after eye surgery
It’s a well-known fact that getting anesthetized for an operation can lead to some pretty bizarre behavior — after all, some of the funniest viral videos feature people post-op. It’s safe to say that a pop star like Taylor Swift hoped that her own post-surgery high would never be captured on camera, let alone made public. However, thanks to her mother and Jimmy Fallon, it was — and it led to a spectacularly hilarious awkward moment.
During an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” the host surprised Swift — and the audience — with a video of her taken by her mother immediately after her operation. As Fallon began asking Swift about her operation, it quickly became clear that she had no idea he had the footage. “What is going on?” she said, looking slightly terrified. Then, Fallon confessed, “Your mom may or may not have videotaped you after surgery.” Swift laughed in shock. Then, Fallon played the hilarious moment.
Swift can be seen standing in her kitchen wearing goggles and pulling a banana off a bunch. She whines, “That wasn’t the one I wanted.” After getting upset, her mother gets the “right” banana for her daughter. The video then cuts to Swift lying in bed, haphazardly eating her banana and looking completely out of it. “I’m not asleep. My mind is alive,” she says.
She dragged Lana Del Rey onto the stage at the 2024 Grammys
Fans were quick to spot an awkward moment during the 2024 Grammys. After winning the award for Album of the Year, Taylor Swift grabbed her friend, Lana Del Rey, by the hand and proceeded to drag the reluctant singer up to the stage with her. Del Rey was also nominated and had just lost to Swift. In footage of the incident, Del Rey certainly looks embarrassed to have been pulled up to the stage. “Taylor Swift dragging Lana Del Rey to the stage after Lana lost the award for album of the year to her was so uncomfortable to watch sorry,” read one viral tweet.
However, in her speech, Swift gave Del Rey a touching shout-out. “I think so many female artists would not be where they are and would not have the inspiration they have if it weren’t for the work that she’s has done. I think she’s a legacy artist,” Swift said.
Del Rey also later clarified that she wasn’t upset about the moment. “I literally did not feel 1 ounce of negative emotion at any point in that award ceremony. It was pure funniness and laughter,” she wrote in an Instagram comment (via People).
She didn’t seem to love a joke at the 2024 Golden Globes
Taylor Swift doesn’t mind a good joke — but a bad joke is something she simply will not put up with. During the 2024 Golden Globes, the pop star was caught on camera reacting to a particularly tasteless joke during the ceremony. “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL — on the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift,” host Jo Koy said. “I swear, there’s just more to go to.” When the camera panned to Swift, she was seen biting her lip before stoically sipping her drink. The joke made at her expense didn’t exactly land well.
Swifties quickly took to X, formerly Twitter, to discuss the awkward moment. “Oof. I don’t think Taylor Swift liked Jo Koy’s joke about her,” one wrote. Koy later apologized for the joke. “The whole intention of that joke was to make fun of the NFL,” he explained to the Los Angeles Times. “It’s like, the cool thing about the [Golden] Globes is we don’t need to do cutaways for ratings. What hurts the most is me just supporting Taylor, I support her, I love her work.”
Taylor Swift appeared to get the ick from Travis at the Super Bowl
There are few things more awkward than watching your partner do something super embarrassing — now imagine watching your boyfriend do something silly on live TV. That’s exactly what happened to Taylor Swift during the 2024 Super Bowl. While celebrating his win, Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce grabbed the trophy and shouted in a cracking voice, “Viva Las Vegas!” The cameras cut to Swift to capture her reaction — and by the looks of things, the star was more than a little embarrassed on behalf of her significant other.
Swifties were, of course, quick to notice. “The [Super Bowl] is cool because we now have recorded footage of exactly when Taylor Swift got the ick after Travis’s Viva Las Vegas war cry,” one fan tweeted. According to body language expert Louise Mahler, this was a very awkward moment for Swift indeed. “I think she was horrified, slightly amused, but embarrassed,” Mahler told Yahoo. She continued, saying, “In this footage, she opens, then shuts and holds her mouth tightly. She does not want to open it, suggesting she does not want to say something. Her mouth is slightly smiling, but her eyes lose their sparkle.”
Taylor Swift tripped during a concert in Tokyo
Taylor Swift has had a few awkward moments during her live performances on her global Eras Tour — with one of the worst happening in February 2024 when the singer tripped and nearly fell while descending from the roof of the woodsy cabin that provides the set for her Folklore era. After Swift made it down from the roof safely, she spoke to the crowd. “I almost fell off the Folklore cabin,” the singer said with a laugh. “But I didn’t. And that’s the lesson. My life flashed before my eyes. … I’m just so happy I didn’t fall off the Folklore cabin.” Um, so are we!
This moment may have been pretty awkward — after all, it ruined the illusion of the super slick Eras show — however, it was also kind of terrifying. That cutesy cabin is a bit of a safety hazard!