Taylor Swift Explains Why She Will Not Do the Super Bowl Halftime Show

Taylor Swift stopped by The Tonight Show on Monday, Oct. 6, and Jimmy Fallon came prepared with a list of swirling rumors. Swift, never one to dodge a tough question, confirmed or denied each one in classic Taylor fashion — with a mix of honesty, humor, and storytelling.

When Fallon asked about the rumor that she turned down the Super Bowl halftime show because of performance footage, Swift was quick with a firm "No."

Then she explained in detail.

"Here's the thing," Swift began. "Jay Z has always been very good to me. Our teams are very close. They sometimes will call and say how does she feel about... and that's not an official offer or a conference room conversation. We're always able to tell him the truth, which is that I am in love with a guy who does that sport on that actual field."

That “guy,” of course, is her fiancé, Travis Kelce. For Swift, the game is too intense to balance with halftime-show prep.

"That is violent chess," she said. "That is gladiators without swords. That is dangerous. The whole season I am locked in on what that man is doing on the field. Can you imagine if he's out there every single week putting his life on the line, doing this very dangerous, very high-pressure, high-intensity sport, and I'm like, 'I wonder what my choreo should be. I think we should do two verses of 'Shake it Off' into 'Blank Space' into 'Cruel Summer' would be great.'"

She made sure to clarify that her choice had nothing to do with Kelce. "This is nothing to do with Travis, he would love for me to do it. I'm just too locked in."

Another rumor Fallon brought up was whether Swift teased Selena Gomez about beating her to the altar. Swift immediately shut that down.

"I got to see her be the most elegant, gorgeous — not only bride but just — vision that I've ever seen in my life. I've never seen anything so beautiful as her on her wedding day," Swift said of Gomez’s Sept. 27 wedding to music producer Benny Blanco.

Swift joked about keeping her own engagement low-key at the celebration. "I did make a speech. But I actually made a point not to mention anything about my engagement. No one wants you to be like, 'Hey, I know this is your wedding day but—'" she said, miming a raised hand with her ring.

Instead, her speech was full of memories, especially about the year she and Gomez first met. "I did do some light teasing about the way we used to dress in the year 2008 — the year that we met," she recalled. That included deep V-necks, colorful skinny jeans, and plenty of “amazeballs.”

Swift also admitted that Ed Sheeran, one of her closest friends, found out about her engagement in the most 21st-century way: Instagram.

"I have the perfect explanation. He doesn't have a phone! He doesn't have one that works," Swift explained, laughing. Since she only texted people she had recently messaged, Sheeran missed out on a personal heads-up.

"When the news came out I was like oh my god we forgot to call Ed! Oh no! He's like family. I love him. But he doesn't have a phone."

As if a headline-making interview was not enough, Swift also released her latest project, The Life of a Showgirl, at midnight on Friday, Oct. 3.

So in just a few days, Swift managed to talk rumors, celebrate love, give Fallon plenty of quotable moments, and drop new music. All in all, not a bad week for one of the busiest stars on the planet.