Taylor Swift Skipped Grammys Because They Would Not Guarantee Her A Win For Song Of The Year, Report Claims

Taylor Swift’s no-show at the Grammys may have been something more of sour grapes than a principled stand, a new report claims.

Last week, The Inquisitr reported that the singer canceled what had been a secret performance at the biggest award show in the music industry, with speculation that she was taking a stand after allegations of gender discrimination in the Recording Academy and the firing of CEO Deborah Dugan. But new reports claim that it was a much more personal reason that kept Taylor from the award show.

The New York Post’s Page Six reported that Taylor’s team decided she would only appear at the show and perform if it was guaranteed that she took home one of the night’s biggest awards. While it did not appear they were asking for the academy to hand her the victory, they wanted assurances that she had won before they would commit to her performance, a source told the site.

“[Her team] called and wanted to be assured that she would win the Grammy. And while it wasn’t an explicit demand, they certainly were fishing to find out if Taylor was a winner. It was understood in the conversation that if she’s not winning, she’s not coming to the Grammys,” one insider said.

Taylor had been nominated for song of the year, best pop solo performance, and best pop vocal album. As Vanity Fair reported, there was a sentiment that the academy had not embraced the music she released in 2019, and there was already speculation that Taylor would not be attending the show before the report of her cancellation. Swift did not end up winning, with newcomer Billie Eilish instead sweeping the major categories.

Another music insider said that Taylor’s attempts to find out if she had won were widely known in the music industry, as was the denial from the academy to give her an early peek at the results. But that source said Taylor’s attempts were not that out of the norm, especially for a competitive musician.

“It’s not uncommon [for an artist] to want to know. And everyone knows Taylor loves to win, win, win,” the source said.

A spokesperson for Swift said that the story was “100 percent false and laughable,” borrowing a line from Taylor’s recent No. 1 hit in refuting the rumors.

“She just didn’t go to the Grammys,” the spokesperson said. “You guys need to calm down.”