Taylor Swift had two big events marked on her calendar for Sept. 14 – the 78th Emmy Awards in Los Angeles and the Kansas City Chiefs' home opener at Arrowhead Stadium – and she skipped television's biggest night.
The singer was absent from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, where the ceremony took place nine days after her nominated concert special went home empty-handed at the Creative Arts Emmys.
"Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show" entered the awards with five nominations, including outstanding variety special (pre-recorded). All five categories involving the Disney+ production were handed out Sept. 5, with Swift taking no trophies home.
The Kansas City Chiefs' home opener against the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium. Swift was
spotted in the suite talking to actor Tom Cruise.
But this isn't the Eras Tour ringleader's first brush with the Television Academy: She was previously nominated and has an Emmy Award at home.
Taylor Swift had five Emmy nominations in 2026
"The Final Show" captured the last performance of Swift's record-shattering Eras Tour at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Dec. 8, 2024.
The Disney+ production lost outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) to "The Muppet Show." The pop star was personally recognized in the category as a producer and performer.
Her concert film also came up short in its other four categories. "The Muppet Show" won outstanding picture editing for variety programming, while "The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny" took the trophies for directing, sound mixing and technical direction and camerawork.
The concert was the 149th and final show of a nearly two-year run that crossed five continents, drew more than 10 million fans and grossed $2.077 billion in ticket sales. The three-hour-plus spectacle became the highest-grossing concert tour in history and more than doubled the previous gross ticket-sales benchmark.
Fans arriving for the final Vancouver run noticed an unusually heavy production setup inside BC Place, including flyover cameras, a massive jib, a camera dolly track, boom microphones and signs warning about drones. Areas of the floor and a VIP section were also blocked off for production crews and gear.
Taylor Swift won't be at the 2026 Emmys: Here's why
Sorry, Swifties, your favorite pop star will not be in attendance at the 2026 Emmy Awards.
The "Fate of Ophelia" singer-songwriter, who received five nominations at this year's Creative Arts Emmys on Sept. 5, was spotted in the stands at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri – seated next to none other than Tom Cruise.
Swift was there supporting her husband, Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, who played his first game as a married man against the Denver Broncos on Sept. during "Monday Night Football" Week 1.
The lovebirds tied the knot during the NFL offseason on July 3 at Madison Square Garden.
Taylor Swift and Tom Cruise in the house for MNF
— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2026
DENvsKC on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/59S027XB8M
Taylor Swift won an Emmy in 2015
The superstar already knows what it feels like to take home a golden statuette.
In 2015, she took home outstanding creative achievement in interactive media, original interactive program for "AMEX Unstaged: Taylor Swift Experience." The singer-songwriter was credited as the project's artist and executive producer.
The digital experience turned the elaborate mansion from her "Blank Space" music video into an interactive playground. Fans could navigate six rooms, follow different characters and search for hidden objects, personal photos and other clues tucked throughout the 360-degree world.
Swift initially thought the news was a prank.
After The Hollywood Reporter posted the results in September 2015, she responded on X with a six-step account of her morning: "1. Wakes up 2. Reads this 3. Thinks it's a prank 4. Calls everyone to check 5. It's real 6."
She later shared a photo of the trophy.
"We have no chill. The Emmy has rendered us chill-less," Swift wrote on Instagram after the award arrived by overnight delivery, according to Billboard. "I DID NOT KNOW THIS WAS A THING."
The celebratory photos have since disappeared from her account. In August 2017, she wiped her social media accounts and website ahead of the announcement of "Reputation," her sixth studio album.
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Follow Taylor Swift reporter Bryan West on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Did Taylor Swift attend the 2026 Emmys?
