Taylor Lautner Explains Why He Gushed About Taylor Swift On The Eras Tour Stage, And It’s The Sweetest Thing Ever

Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner in I Can See You music video
(Image credit: UMPG Publishing)

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour era will be looked back on by Swifties as one of the most memorable of the singer’s career, because so many exciting things are happening every night of it. One particularly thrilling development from the tour came when Swift premiered her music video for “I Can See You” in Kansas City before bringing out the video’s stars, which included Taylor Lautner. The Twilight star graced the audience with a backflip moment before gushing about the singer in front of a sea of fans, and it went massively viral. Now, the actor is explaining why he decided to give such a sweet speech about his ex-turned-friend.

Lautner has been praised for taking the microphone during his moment on stage to tell his famous ex, in front of the world, that he respects her so much saying: “not for the singer you are, the songwriter, the performer, but truly for the human you are.” When looking back at the moment this week on his podcast The Squeeze, Lautner said this about taking the Eras Tour stage: 

I started thinking about what I wanted to say in the tent before we went on stage. Honestly, at first, I was like ‘I want to get up on stage and I want to brag about her, because I know she’s not going to because that’s not her.’ I want to brag about how freaking smart and talented this girl is. Obviously, everyone in the stadium knows that, but, you know, she’s not going to say it so I’m like ‘I want to brag about her’ because this music video is unbelievable and she did all of it, it’s all her. I want to give her the credit she deserves.

Lautner spoke to the experience while on his shared podcast with his wife, who officially became Taylor Lautner herself after their wedding last year. They both gushed about their experience working with Swift, and the actor went on to talk about his time on the Eras Tour stage and the speech he gave, saying:

And then I started thinking, you know what’s more important than all of those things that I want to brag about? It’s who she is as a person. She is one of the most talented people on this Earth, she’s an incredible singer, an incredible songwriter, an incredible performer, incredible director, writer, we can go on. But, more important than all of those things is that she is an incredible human being who is just so gracious, so humble and so thoughtful. I was like ‘That’s what I need to convey.’ If anybody doesn't know that, they need to know that about her.

(L-R) Taylor Swift, Joey King and Taylor Lautner speak onstage for night one of Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on July 07, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri.

(Image credit: Photo by John Shearer/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)

During the podcast conversation, Lautner’s wife shared how much she loved that the Twilight actor specifically delivered the message of “respect” toward Taylor Swift. She noted this because so many women out there don’t get to hear examples of men respecting women in their lives and relationships. 

Along with this uplifting message, both Taylor Lautners attended the Eras Tour that night, and they shared that they had an absolute blast seeing Swift’s show and even trading friendship bracelets with other fans. 

Taylor Lautner’s attendance at the Eras Tour and his role in the “I Can See You” music video is a callback to him and Swift being a couple during the making of Speak Now prior to Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) being released earlier this month. The song “Back To December” is famously about him, which his wife also commented on, saying it’s a “banger” along with other thoughts. 

Given it’s been over a decade since Lautner and Swift dated, and the Taylor Lautners are married now, it sounds like they have been able to cultivate a sweet friendship. All the Taylors even recreated the Spider-Man meme on the set of “I Can See You”. I know I love to see Swift and Lautner being ex-goals, and we absolutely cannot wait to learn about what upcoming Taylor Swift music and surprises are coming for Swifties next. 

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.