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Earlier this week, the New York Knicks pulled off a historic comeback against the San Antonio Spurs to go up three games to one in the NBA Finals.
As usual, the stars were out in force at MSG’s Celebrity Row, with Taylor Swift shining brightest.
The world’s most famous singer was flanked by friends Mariska Hargitay and the Haim sisters, all of them wearing t-shirts featuring puns on the team’s name (Taylor’s read “Stevie Knicks).
When the Knicks won, Taylor seemed as happy as a million Chalamets — but like everything she does, her attendance quickly became a source of controversy.
Now, Taylor spent years living in Manhattan, and she considers New York her adopted hometown.
But lots of folks are questioning her legitimacy as a Knicks fan. In short, she’s being accused of an egregious act of bandwagon jumping.
Normally, that’s a pretty innocuous crime, and most sports fans are a little bit guilty of it at one point or another (hey, you have to do something when your team is eliminated from the playoffs).
But as Mariska knows, some violations are considered especially heinous, and in the eyes of New Yorkers, a casual fan claiming four courtside seats is a capital offense.
Some believe that even Selena Gomez shaded Taylor’s Knicks fandom, a rumor that arose when Selena commented “lol” on a post about Swift sitting courtside.
But as TMZ points out, Selena has since clarified the matter, insisting that she did not intend to insult her bestit.
“Woke up and was sent so many texts. I would never insult my friends nor was it an insult,” she posted.
The same cannot be said of New York sports journalist Monica McNutt, who was caught remarking on Taylor’s presence in an unfortunate hot mic moment.
“She’s not a Knicks fan. Get out of here, girl,” McNutt said ahead of the game.
In remarks to TMZ, McNutt later clarified that she stands corrected and has since learned that Taylor is actually a diehard Knicks fan who owns such coveted merch as 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 a game.
So there you have it. Taylor has the express written, authorized approval of the Knicks media team.
Will she be in the crowd on Tuesday if the Spurs manage to send the series back to New York? Maybe.
But Taylor is probably hoping Jalen Brunson and company will get the job done tomorrow night.
We’ll keep you posted.