Taylor Swift is poised to skip Sunday’s Kansas City Chiefs home game against the Los Angeles Chargers because she will be performing at the Academy Museum Gala on Saturday night, according to an exclusive report by entertainment industry insider Rob Shuter in his Naughty But Nice newsletter.
Swift’s absence would break a streak of 14 straight Chiefs home games the global pop superstar has attended, failing to miss one since Dec. 8, 2024 when she was forced to skip a game against the Chargers to perform on her Eras Tour. Her failure to attend the game has real consequences that extend well beyond anything to do with her marriage to Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Her presence has been tied to TV ratings spikes and fan-base growth since 2023. But according to Shuter, it now appears that her ambition to win an Oscar will consume the upcoming weekend.
The Chiefs (4-0) host the Chargers (0-5) at 3:25 p.m. CT at Arrowhead Stadium, with CBS carrying the Week 6 game after Kansas City’s bye, according to the Chiefs’ official schedule page.
Swift first appeared at Arrowhead on Sept. 24, 2023. She attended nine of 10 home games in 2024, missing only the Dec. 8 Chargers game because of her final Eras Tour stop in Vancouver, according to CBS Sports coverage.
She has shown up at every home game since, including all of 2025 and both home games this season, according to a USA Today report. Her total reaches at least 34 Chiefs games since she and Kelce became an item in 2023, with Kansas City 24-8 in the first 32, according to a Miami Herald tally.
Sunday would also mark her first missed home game since marrying Kelce on July 3, 2026 at Madison Square Garden.
“Taylor loves cheering for Travis, but this weekend is about Taylor,” one member of Swift’s circle told Shuter. “He has his career. She has hers. And right now, hers involves winning an Oscar.”
Taylor Swift’s Oscar Push and Steven Spielberg’s Role
Swift is chasing her first Academy Award with “I Knew It, I Knew You,” the Toy Story 5 soundtrack song she co-wrote with Jack Antonoff, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 after its June 5 release.
She accepted the inaugural Artist Director Honors at the Sept. 27 VMAs and premiered her self-directed “Patient Zero” video, according to Variety. Her speeches never named the song, a move that quietly advanced her Oscar push, according to The Ankler scribe Katey Rich. Despite her numerous awards, Swift has never received an Oscar nomination.
Acclaimed director Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark) and his wife, Kate Capshaw, co-chair the sixth annual Academy Museum Gala with Tom Ford and Robert Rodriguez, according to a Hollywood Reporter announcement.
Spielberg “opens doors that even Taylor can’t open herself,” one industry insider said, as quoted by Shuter. The gala draws awards-season campaigners, putting Swift in front of numerous Academy heavyweights.
The Jurassic Park director inducted Swift into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 11, at her request, and called her a “singular” artist with “no peer,” according to Rolling Stone coverage of the ceremony.
Taylor Swift’s Economic Impact on the Kansas City Chiefs
Swift’s first Arrowhead game drew 24.3 million viewers on Fox, up 65.5% from the Chiefs’ comparable 2022 game, according to a Forbes analysis.
Chiefs Sunday Night Football games with Swift ran 28% above other teams’ averages, against a historical edge of about 5%, according to a New York Times analysis.
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt credits Swift, alongside on-field success, for a roughly 30% fan-base increase, according to Bloomberg report.
Taylor Swift Plans to Skip Kelce’s Next Game: ‘This Weekend is About Taylor’