Just hours before her husband Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs lost their second game of the season Sunday against the Broncos in Denver, Taylor Swift spent hours in a Manhattan screening room courting Oscar voters on Sunday, escalating her bid for a first Academy Award nomination. The meeting was caught on video, which can be seen below.
With nominations arriving in January, Swift’s personal approach to voters continues to show that she is now chasing an Oscar trophy harder than ever.
Swift appeared at a For Your Consideration screening of Toy Story 5 at Disney’s New York headquarters on Nov. 1, drawing more than 200 guild members and Critics Choice voters, according to The Ankler‘s Katey Rich.
The screening fell the morning after Halloween.
“This is wonderful of you to just rise from the candy hangover, bringing children,” Swift told the crowd.
Swift and director Andrew Stanton fielded questions for roughly 30 minutes, wrapping at 12:17 p.m. She then stayed to greet every attendee, signing autographs and posing for selfies while publicist Tree Paine handled the photos.
Journalist Christopher Rosen and his 8-year-old daughter reached the stage at 1:31 p.m., with dozens still in line. Swift knelt to speak with the girl at eye level.
Swift tied the film’s story of female friendship to her own life.
“We still do this. It’s something our husbands have to put up with,” Swift said, according to USA Today.
She was describing how she and Abigail Anderson Berard, her best friend since they met at Hendersonville High School, still talk in Napoleon Dynamite voices.
Swift hesitated over the offer to write and perform a song for Toy Story 5 at first because of her Eras Tour, but Stanton never lined up a backup.
“I’m not in the business of doing that,” Swift said, according to Billboard. She asked repeatedly whether the filmmakers had replaced her during her delay, unwilling to displace anyone.
“Jack and I knew how to stretch what we would normally do in reverence to our fandom, to the maestro who created this whole thing,” Swift said, referring to her frequent producer and co-songwriter Jack Antonoff.
Swift’s entire Q&A session for Oscar voters was captured on video, which can be viewed below…
Taylor Swift’s Previous Oscar Near Misses
“Safe & Sound,” from The Hunger Games in 2012, earned Swift a Golden Globe nomination and a Grammy win but no Oscar nomination, according to Forbes. “Sweeter Than Fiction,” from One Chance, drew a Golden Globe nomination but no Oscar recognition.
“Beautiful Ghosts,” co-written with Andrew Lloyd Webber for Cats, earned Golden Globe and Grammy nominations but missed the Oscar shortlist.
“Carolina,” from Where the Crawdads Sing, made the 2023 Best Original Song shortlist but did not earn a nomination, while Rihanna and Lady Gaga did.
Swift also campaigned for All Too Well: The Short Film, which missed the Live Action Short shortlist.
Taylor Swift’s Oscar Push Without Travis Kelce
The current campaign includes a performance of the song at the Academy Museum Gala the week before, in front of Oscar and Grammy voters, plus the individual greetings in New York. Oscar nominations arrive in January 2027.
Travis Kelce was not by her side. The Kansas City Chiefs lost 28-24 to the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday while Swift stayed in New York, according to the New York Post.
The Broncos took the AFC West lead with a late rally and a goal-line stand. Swift has generally not attended road games recently.
Taylor Swift’s Oscar Voter Meeting Caught on Video: Where Was Travis Kelce?