Serena Williams and Taylor Swift were both at the Super Bowl earlier this year — Serena onstage with halftime performer Kendrick Lamar and Taylor in the stands — but the two didn’t interact, even though Serena wanted to.
Serena is featured on the TIME100 list of the 100 most influential people of 2025, a list that Taylor made in 2019 before being named person of the year in 2023. She tells the publication that she wanted her daughter Olympia to meet Taylor and get her autograph, but she decided to leave her alone due to what was happening on the field.
According to Serena, she and husband Alexis Ohanian waited with Olympia outside Taylor’s VIP suite, hoping to catch her on her way out. “I’m such a mom. I was ready to go in here myself and be like, ‘Taylor, come get this girl,’” she tells TIME.
But since Taylor was rooting for the Chiefs, who were losing to the Eagles, Serena decided not to intrude. “It’s hard when your team is losing,” says Williams. “I totally get it.”
But that night Serena showed her support for Taylor by posting about the fact that people — presumably Eagles fans — were seemingly booing the singer at the game. She wrote on social platform X, “I love you @taylorswift13 don’t listen to those boos!”
Serena tells TIME she’s still confused about the response.
“Why would you boo her?” says Williams. “That’s so mean. That’s just awful.”
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