There was a blank space where fans thought Taylor Swift was going to be at the 2025 American Music Awards, with the pop star skipping the show altogether despite weeks of Swifties theorizing that she was going to make an announcement at the ceremony Monday (May 26).
And though there was never any guarantee that the “Fortnight” singer would attend — much less reveal something by way of new music — many fans are still taking to social media to express their disappointment in the lack of a Swift surprise. While some are sharing memes declaring themselves “clowns” for believing that the 14-time Grammy winner would show up, others are still looking for an explanation behind the seeming “clues” that led them to believe she would be there in the first place.
“i know that taylor doesn’t owe us anything but what was the reason behind this?” one person wrote on X, sharing a screenshot of Swift’s online store with a display menu that reads, “Apparel, Music, Accessories, Sale.”
The store menu — which spells out “AMAs” with each word’s first letter — was one of several non-Easter eggs that gave fans false hope that Swift would be at the ceremony. Over the past couple of weeks, Swifties also noticed that many of her site’s items were on sale for 26% off, which they pointed out matched the date of this year’s AMAs: May 26.
And while some thought that Swift would announce Reputation (Taylor’s Version) and others were convinced that she’d unveil her next studio album, all of the believers were absolutely certain that the aforementioned details were no coincidence — except, they turned out to be just that. Not only did the “Karma” artist not make an announcement, she didn’t even show up.
To cope with the letdown, many of those fans are making jokes at their own expense. “me bc taylor didn’t show up to the #AMAs,” one Swiftie wrote on X, posting a screenshot of the singer’s Folklore song “This Is Me Trying” edited to say, “This Is Me Clowning.”
Another person shared a screengrab of a fitting lyric from The Tortured Poets Department‘s “But Daddy I Love Him” — “You should see your faces” — and a third fan shared a photo of an empty AMAs red carpet and wrote sarcastically, “Taylor Swift stuns at the #AMAs.”
Swift hasn’t dropped an album since Tortured Poets in April 2024, after which the LP spent 17 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It’s been even longer since she released another Taylor’s Version re-record, with the last one, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), arriving in October 2023. Fans have been eager for the next one in the series ever since, with Reputation and Swift’s 2006 self-titled debut being the only two of her first six albums due for a re-rerelease amid her quest to reclaim ownership of her masters.
And as the AMAs proved to be fruitless in terms of any Swift news, fans will just have to keep clowning. Keep reading to see some of their best reactions to the musician’s absence below.
The American Music Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.
