Harry Styles kicked off his 30-concert Madison Square Garden residency Saturday night, and he wasted no time addressing the elephant in the arena. At the tail end of the show, the pop superstar gave a cheeky shout-out to his ex Taylor Swift’s wedding to Travis Kelce — which took place at the very same venue.
“We’re at Madison Square Garden, home of the world champion New York Knicks!” Styles announced to loud applause, before adding, “And they also do weddings.”
“And they also do weddings.”
The joke lands because it is true. Swift and Kelce tied the knot at Madison Square Garden on July 3, the same venue where Styles is now playing a historic residency. It is a playful nod, not a jab, and fans read it as a sign the two former flames are firmly on good terms.
No Bad Blood
Styles famously dated Swift from November 2012 to January 2013 and served as the inspiration for her chart-topping 2014 hit “Style.” According to Variety, Styles even “received an invitation” to the Swift-Kelce wedding, but sources said he was on tour and would not make it to MSG. His fiancé, Zoë Kravitz, did end up attending the mega-wedding.
This is not the first time Styles has playfully acknowledged the wedding. During his record-breaking Wembley residency on July 3, he performed his 2017 song “Two Ghosts,” widely believed to be his response to “Style,” singing: “Same lips red, same eyes blue / Same white shirt, couple more tattoos.”
Why It Matters
A decade after their highly publicized romance, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift remain two of the biggest stars on the planet, and any acknowledgment of each other still sends the internet into a frenzy. Styles’ good-humored MSG nod shows the two have moved past any awkwardness, turning one of pop’s most famous old couples into a running inside joke at the most storied arena in New York. With a 30-night residency ahead of him, fans can expect a few more knowing winks before it is all over.
