Satire Site
Did Taylor Swift cancel her Eras Tour dates after a “backlash” over her endorsement of Kamala Harris for president damaged ticket sales? No, that’s not true: The site that reported that Swift had canceled “several upcoming tour dates” describes itself as a “one-stop destination for satirical news and commentary.” The site’s article about Swift is clearly labeled “satire.” As of September 18, 2024, Swift’s website does not show any change in her upcoming tour dates. There also are no credible news reports about Swift canceling any concert dates.
The claim appeared in an article (archived here) on the Esspots website on September 14, 2024, under the title “Taylor Swift Cancels Eras Tour Dates After Endorsement Backlash: ‘Only 2,300 Tickets Sold.'” The article began:
In a turn of events that no one–especially Taylor Swift–saw coming, the pop sensation has been forced to cancel several upcoming dates of her highly anticipated Eras tour after a shocking backlash following her public endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.
This is what the article looked like at the time of writing:
The article also claimed:
The once-sold-out stadiums have quickly turned into ghost towns, with Swift managing to sell a mere 2,300 tickets for the latest leg of the tour, a far cry from the record-breaking crowds she had been pulling in earlier.
As the screenshot above shows, a gray tag underneath the article’s title identified the story as “satire.”
The About Us section of the website (archived here) described the site as “your one-stop destination for satirical news and commentary about the United States of America.” It also said:
Our team of writers and editors is dedicated to bringing you the latest and greatest in fake news and absurdity, all with a healthy dose of humor and satire.
As the screenshots below show, the Taylor Swift website has no information about U.S. or international tour cancellations in 2024.
Clicking on “More Info” in the schedules leads to the box-office website Ticketmaster, which displays no tickets available for her upcoming tours. As of the publication of this fact check, those tours resume on October 18, 2024.
An archived version of the Taylor Swift website from September 12, 2024, two days before the satirical article about Swift cancellations, showed the same concert dates as those available on September 18, 2024 (archived here). None of the shows had been canceled or changed for her scheduled U.S. or international tour dates (archived here).
In a post on September 10, 2024, on the performer’s official Instagram page (archived here), Swift endorsed Vice President Harris in the 2024 race for president. The screenshot below shows the endorsement:
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Wed Sep 18 21:12:33 2024 UTC)
Had Swift canceled tours following this endorsement, it would have been major national and international news. However, a Google search (archived here) for keywords returned zero matching results.
Other fact check agencies have also reviewed this claim, including PolitiFact and Snopes.
Other Lead Stories fact checks of claims about Taylor Swift can be found here. Lead Stories’ debunks of claims about the 2024 election can be read here.
Alexis Tereszcuk is a writer and fact checker at Lead Stories and an award-winning journalist who spent over a decade breaking hard news and celebrity scoop with RadarOnline and Us Weekly.
As the Entertainment Editor, she investigated Hollywood stories and conducted interviews with A-list celebrities and reality stars.
Alexisâ crime reporting earned her spots as a contributor on the Nancy Grace show, CNN, Fox News and Entertainment Tonight, among others.
