There was a very special guest at the premiere of Taylor Swift's 'Era's Tour' film in Los Angeles on Wednesday, and it wasn't Taylor Swift. None other than Beyoncé showed up to support the All Too Well singer and Taylor was, understandably, beside herself.
Sharing a gif of them together on her Instagram page, Taylor wrote: 'I’m so glad I’ll never know what my life would’ve been like without @beyonce‘s influence. The way she’s taught me and every artist out here to break rules and defy industry norms. Her generosity of spirit. Her resilience and versatility.'
Better still, the gif is of the two music icons throwing popcorn in the cinema – with Taylor wearing a ballgown and Beyoncé in a catsuit.
This feels like a big moment (and statement) for the pop culture archives, and follows a pretty huge year for the two music titans. So let's take a look back at the history of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé's iconic and enduring friendship.
The 2009 VMAs
Both unfathomably successful in their own right, the first time Beyoncé and Taylor ever shared the same headlines was after the MTV Video Music Awards in 2009. Unbeknownst to the two nominees, this was a night that would go down in history.
Taylor and Beyoncé were both nominated for Best Female Video for 'You Belong With Me' and 'Single Ladies (Put a ring on it)' respectively. The other nominees were Katy Perry for 'Hot n Cold', Kelly Clarkson for 'My Life Would Suck Without You', Lady Gaga for 'Poker Face' and P!nk for 'So What', just to set the scene.
When Taylor, then 20 years old, was called out as the winner, Kanye West (now Ye) famously jumped on stage and took the mic off her during her acceptance speech. He said, 'Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'mma let you finish. But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!' The arena collectively gasped, and Beyoncé looked suitably mortified.
Later in the evening, when Beyoncé accepted an award of her own, she invited Taylor back on stage to finish her speech. She said, 'I remember being 17 years old, up for my first MTV Award with Destiny’s Child, and it was one of the most exciting moments in my life. So, I’d like for Taylor to come out and have her moment.' If that's not the foundation for a great friendship, we don't know what is.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z attend Taylor's 25th
Fast forward to 2014 and Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z attended Taylor's 25th in Tribeca. Justin Timberlake, Karlie Kloss, Selena Gomez, Ansel Elgort, the Haim sisters and Sam Smith were all there too.
A few days later, they both attended Justin Timberlake’s 20/20 Experience Tour at the Barclays Center.
Putting on a show
Bey and Tay have also been spotted together in public a number of times, such as at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2016. They have also been seen together at various charity events, such as the Stand Up to Cancer event in 2018.
Beyoncé sends Taylor flowers to celebrate their Grammy wins
In 2021, after the 63rd Grammy Awards ceremony, Taylor received a little something from an old friend in the post after winning Album of the Year.
She shared a photo of a pink bouquet of flowers on Instagram alongside a note which read, 'Taylor, Congratulations on your Grammy. It was great seeing you on Sunday night. Thank you for always being so supportive. Sending love to you & your family. B.'
And again, Taylor couldn't contain her excitement. 'Woke up to flowers from the queen of grace & greatness @beyonce and suddenly it's the best Friday EVER. Thank you B and congratulations on your epic achievement Sunday night!!'
Taylor wishes Beyoncé a happy 40th
Later that year in 2021, Taylor joined a string of other celebrities in wishing Beyoncé a happy 40th birthday. In a video she said, 'The fact that you have paved the road that every female artist is walking down now. The fact that you’ve done so with such kindness and such grace.' She then added, 'To say I admire you — there’s just not a word for it.'
Beyoncé attends the Eras Tour film premiere
And now, all these years later, it looks like Tayoncé is still going strong. Their friendship always catches us off guard because it's rare to see two people that famous in the same place. But looking back through the archives, it seems like Beyoncé and Taylor have always shared a special bond.
So it's no wonder Beyoncé wanted to support Taylor at the premiere of her Eras Tour film. The film will be shown in more than 100 countries from 13 October. It was recorded in August over the first three nights the singer played at the SoFi stadium in Los Angeles.
It was directed by Sam Wrench, who also directed concert films for Billie Eilish and Lizzo, and it has been produced by Taylor Swift Productions. It comes in at two hours and 45 minutes long, which is a fair bit shorter than the real Eras Tour, which features 44 of Taylor's songs.
Renaissance Tour film premiere pending...
Earlier this month, Beyoncé announced a new concert film based on her own tour, Renaissance. The film will hit cinemas on 1 December and the singer is set to receive more than 50% of box office gross.
And when Beyoncé's own premiere rolls around, we have a feeling Taylor Swift might be on the guest list...