Hugh Grant is starring in the new film 'Heretic'. Photo: Reuters
While Hugh Grant's daughter may be the bigger Swiftie between them, the actor still relished their moment together on Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.
The Notting Hill star attended the second of eight shows Swift played at London's Wembley Stadium over the summer – joining fellow actors Rachel Zegler and Tom Cruise in June in one of the rowdier VIP tents on the tour. (Prince William made an appearance the night prior.)
Grant – who leads the upcoming A24 horror film Heretic – initially reached out to the Fortnight singer's team because his daughter is "mad about Taylor Swift," he told NME in an interview published Oct 29.
"I put out some feelers, and to my astonishment, they said, 'Yeah, come along,' " he said.
While his daughter and her friend were "bopping away" to every song, Grant said, he buddied up with Swift's boyfriend, NFL tight end Travis Kelce. Along with a few others Grant presumed to be rappers, they took shots of tequila and got "absolutely smashed."
"Dear @taylorswift13, You have an incredible show, an amazing and v hospitable team and excellent if gigantic boyfriend," Grant wrote on X the following day. "Thanks so much from one ageing London boy, wife and thrilled 8 year old."
To which Swift replied: "As a long time Hugh Grant stan this tweet is very important to my culture."
Recalling her "extremely nice" sentiment, Grant told NME that the Miss Americana star – with her three-hour, multimillion-dollar production – delivers a "brilliant show."
Taylor Swift is still on her Eras Tour. Photo: AP
Indeed, Swift seems to keep calm even in the face of wardrobe mishaps and stage malfunctions.
During her third and final stop in New Orleans, the Grammy winner was in the middle of her song Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me? when the stage's reflective silver platform – dubbed the "Tayoomba" – suddenly stopped moving. (The mechanism typically roves around for the duration of the number, with Swift swooping and stomping atop it).
Swift played it off, dancing and singing her way down the catwalk as her dancers followed. She then performed Down Bad – another track from her April album The Tortured Poets Department – without the platform for the first time.
Still, the stage malfunction wasn't the dramatic highlight of Swift's New Orleans run. During the earlier date show the billionaire hitmaker welcomed former opener Sabrina Carpenter onstage to sing a medley of her twin singles Espresso and Please Please Please and Swift's own Is It Over Now? (Taylor's Version).
Sabrina Carpenter makes an appearance at Taylor Swift's concert. Photo: AP
After her memorable cameo, Carpenter wrote to Swift on Instagram, "thank you for working late, thank you for being a singer and thank you for having me" – calling her pop mentor's pulpit the "only stage i'd ever wanna see on a day off."
Carpenter "had one day off from her very exhaustive tour schedule," Swift wrote on Instagram. "Her show is physically full on and spectacular, and she could've been resting in her time off."
Still, the former Disney Channel star went "out of her way to give fans a surprise moment they didn't expect. She's as real as they come and I'm so thankful she did that for us," Swift said, attaching a photo of the pair onstage.
Swift's tour continues Nov. 1 in Indianapolis, the last U.S. city on the schedule, and officially concludes in December in Vancouver, British Columbia. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
