Taylor Swift's team is said to have 'scrambled' to have the singer take a picture with Celine Dion after she 'blanked' the icon on stage at the Grammys.
Swift added two more Grammys to her collection on Sunday (4 February) thanks to her latest album Midnights, which earned her the awards for Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year.
The latter award was presented by Dion, a five-time Grammy winner herself, but as Swift arrived on stage she seemed to barely look at Dion as she took the award out of her hands.
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The interaction sparked criticism from viewers, with many taking to X to share their thoughts.
"I’m sure it’s a BIG moment…overwhelming even…but for Taylor Swift to blank Celine Dion & not even acknowledge her when she’s handing you the award was RUDE," one person wrote.
Though Swift didn't directly interact with Dion on stage, an image of the pair hugging behind the scenes soon emerged online, showing them seemingly getting along great as they both grinned for the camera.
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Dion indicated that she and Swift were on good terms as she shared the picture online, and Swift also responded to the post with a series of love-heart emojis, indicating Swift wasn't being malicious in the way she accepted her award from Dion.
However, a claim has now emerged suggesting the snap was orchestrated specifically as 'damage control'.
Matthew Belloni, co-founder of the Puck digital media company and an industry expert who attended the Grammys, made his claims on his The Town podcast after allegedly having 'talked to someone backstage'.
"The Taylor camp knew immediately this is a misstep,” he claimed.
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"They were scrambling to get a photo of Taylor with Celine Dion, which they promptly put out, and that was damage control for the ‘Celine Moment.'"
Brendan Kelly, a music columnist for the Montreal Gazette, shared in Belloni's thought process as he suggested the 'rapid-fire release of the photo' was an indication of 'Team Swift going into full-scale damage-control mode'.
“I have met her P.R. team, and these folks do media control just about as well as you’d expect," Kelly added.
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Belloni further claimed on his podcast that Swift should have known better when it came to accepting her award, saying: "Traditionally, the P.R. people will say, when you go on stage, make sure you acknowledge the person who is giving you the award.
“Taylor typically knows better than to just grab the award and to try to summon her pals (on stage) to celebrate their big win.”
There were a number of people who received hugs from Swift following her win, including her producer Jack Antonoff, recording engineer Laura Sisk and singer Lana Del Rey, who had been nominated in the same category for her own album.
UNILAD has contacted representatives for Swift comment.
Topics: Celebrity, Music, Taylor Swift, Grammys, US News
Emily Brown