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Earlier this week, the New York Knicks pulled off a historic comeback against the San Antonio Spurs to advance three games to one in the NBA Finals.
As usual, the stars were out in force at the MSG Hall of Fame, with Taylor Swift shining bright.
The world’s most famous singer was surrounded by friends Mariska Hargitay and the Haim sisters, all wearing T-shirts with a pun on the band’s name (Taylor read “Stevie Nicks”).
When the Knicks won, Taylor looked as happy as a million Chalamets — but like everything she does, her presence quickly became a source of controversy.
Now, Taylor has spent years living in Manhattan, and considers New York her adopted hometown.
But many people question her legitimacy as a Knicks fan. In short, she is accused of the egregious act of jumping on the bandwagon.
Normally, this is a pretty harmless crime, and most sports fans are a little guilty of it at one point or another (hey, you gotta do something when your team gets eliminated from the playoffs).
But as Mariska knows, some violations are particularly heinous, and in the eyes of New Yorkers, asking a casual fan for four seats in the stadium is a crime punishable by death.
Some believe that even Selena Gomez has spoiled Taylor Nicks’ fanbase, a rumor that originated when Selena commented “lol” on a post about Swift sitting on court.
But as TMZ noted, Selena has since clarified the matter, insisting that she did not intend to insult her friend.
“I woke up and she sent me a lot of texts. I would never insult my friends and this was not an insult,” she wrote.
The same can’t be said for New York sports journalist Monica McNutt, who was caught mentioning Taylor’s presence in an unfortunate hot mic moment.
“She’s not a Knicks fan. Get out of here, girl,” McNutt said before the game.
In statements to TMZ, McNutt later clarified that she was corrected and has since learned that Taylor is in fact a die-hard Knicks fan and owns coveted merchandise like a game-worn Amar’e Stoudamire jersey.
McNutt stated that her original comment was merely a reflection of the fact that she had been covering Celebrity Row all season and had not seen Taylor attend any games.
So this is it. Taylor has express and authorized written consent from the Knicks media team.
Will you be in the crowd on Tuesday if the Spurs can bring the series back to New York? maybe.
But Taylor may be hoping Jalen Brunson and company get the job done tomorrow night.
We will keep you updated.
