Taylor in NZ but too Swift for fans
Rumour mill on fire, including speculation pop star is filming a new music video here
Pop star Taylor Swift is definitely in New Zealand, but the singer is yet to show her face. Sources yesterday confirmed to the Herald that Lorde’s bestie, who is rumoured to be shooting a new music video here, is indeed in New Zealand.
The news was backed up by Shortland Street star Ido Drent, who shared an Air New Zealand flight with her.
He told TVNZ he talked to Swift outside one of the plane’s toilets.
“Yeah, had a good chat to her on the plane outside the lavatory,” he told TVNZ. “She’s definitely here.”
But the Bad Blood hitmaker appears to have pulled a swift one on New Zealand media, and her Kiwi fans, who have been hanging out for even a brief glimpse.
TV3 programme Newsworthy, which airs daily at 10.30pm, had a film crew hot on her trail feeding into a live blog on their website, but there was little to report.
Reporter Jesse Peach was stationed outside a studio in Henderson where he hoped to nab an interview with Swift.
“We are outside the studio where Taylor Swift is,” he wrote on Twitter. “Everything is grey. Grey fence, grey buildings, grey look on the security guard’s face.”
The final blog post came at 5.35pm last night: “The answer to that question is no. Jesse didn’t see Taylor Swift or anything that looked like Taylor Swift. He said bye to the security guard. The security guard didn’t say bye back . . . This whole thing has been a nightmare.” Another theory, that she may be shooting in South Auckland, also turned up little more than a bland shot of a studio carpark.
TV3 News reporter Aziz Al-Sa’afin tweeted an image of a trailer in the South Pacific Pictures parking lot, with the caption: “@taylorswift13 missed the #AMAS because she’s shooting a music video. Photo taken in West AKL #TaylorSwiftWatch”
The rumour mill was set alight on Monday after a series of tweets alluded to the fact she was on her way here, and was fuelled further when she failed to appear on the red carpet at the American Music Awards.
Her absence seemed strange con- sidering she was up for six awards on the night, of which she won three.
New Zealand fans spotted a film crew and heavily guarded woman in a blue dress at Bethells Beach late on Monday, but the image was too grainy to confirm it was Swift.
So far the singer, who is usually active on social media, has remained notably silent.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported Swift was due in Australia tomorrow to shoot a video in the Blue Mountains.
A representative for Universal Music, Swift’s record label, said they wouldn’t comment on the speculation. She’s due to start the Australian leg of her 1989 World Tour in Sydney on Saturday.