Taylor Swift Rumor Takes Off Online

Rumors that Taylor Swift will be appearing on Saturday Night Live on April 20 have gone viral on social media.

The 34-year-old has a long history with the sketch show, with fans suspecting Swift will perform as a musical guest to promote her new album, The Tortured Poets Department.

Her much-anticipated 11th album comes out on Friday, April 19, making April 20 the first Saturday following the record's release.

Taylor Swift, the Eras Tour, March 2023
Taylor Swift performs on March 17, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. The singer has appeared on "Saturday Night Live" several times since 2009. Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment

"'Saturday Night Live' is in negotiations with Taylor Swift for a musical performance," claimed spy (@spy__leaks) on X, formerly Twitter.

Since being shared on Tuesday, the post has received more than 34,000 views, although the poster didn't reveal where they had received this information.

However, the rumor has been swirling online for a few days, with X user Nostradamus Insider (@insider_nostra1) first tweeting about a possible performance on Thursday.

"There are negotiations for Taylor Swift to be the musical guest on #SNL in April as part of #TheTorturedPoetsDepartment promotion," they wrote, with the post receiving over 142,000 views.

Newsweek has reached out to Taylor Swift and Saturday Night Live/NBC for comment via email.

Once again, the leaker remained tight-lipped about their sources. Nevertheless, the theory is plausible. Swift performed on SNL in 2017, the day after releasing her sixth album, Reputation.

The star first appeared on Saturday Night Live as a musical guest in 2009. At the tender age of 19, Swift hadn't long crossed over from country music to mainstream pop, with the singer performing "Fearless" and "Love Story" from her second album, Fearless.

She hosted SNL later that year, opening the show with the "monologue song." The musical number poked fun at Swift's ex-boyfriends Joe Jonas and Taylor Lautner, as well as the then newly-ignited feud with Kanye West after he interrupted her acceptance speech at the MTV VMA awards.

She also took part in several skits, including a Twilight parody with Bill Hader and a nerdy teen in a sham dangerous-driving public service announcement.

Swift hopped into Seth Rogen's monologue when he hosted SNL in 2014. A year later, she appeared in the star-studded sketch "The Californians" for the show's 40th anniversary, along with Hollywood royalty Betty White and A-lister Kerry Washington.

The pop icon has returned as a musical guest on several occasions, with her last appearance in October 2023. She made a surprise cameo during the season 49 premiere, along with her pal, rapper Ice Spice.

Swift was spotted snapping a selfie with Hader during the Golden Globes in January. The comedian was an SNL cast member from 2005 to 2013, with the 45-year-old making regular appearances on the show since.

Swift is currently part-way through her record-breaking Eras Tour, with Swifties hoping the singer will incorporate songs from her upcoming album into her current 3-and-a-half-hour setlist.

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Sophie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in Lincoln, UK. Her focus is reporting on film and ... Read more

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