Taylor Swift Makes Surprise Performance At Pride Month Event; AEG Pledges Support For LGBTQ+

Craig Barritt/Getty Images for AEG – Taylor Swift
Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Taylor Swift Shake it Off

Taylor Swift gave a surprise New York City performance at AEG and Stonewall Inn’s pride celebration commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, an invitation-only event hosted by actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson and including performances by Sara Bareilles, Lea DeLaria and others.

Swift’s Friday night surprise appearance featured an acoustic performance of her hit “Shake It Off,” as she wished the crowd a “happy pride month,” and invited actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson to sing along, according to Pitchfork.

The appearance comes just after her June 1 performance at the KIIS FM Wango Tango festival in at Dignity Sports Park near Los Angeles that also featured the resurgent Jonas Brothers, and as momentum builds for her new LP dropping in August. Her mammoth worldwide tour in 2018 grossed $345.1 million, behind only Ed Sheeran’s record breaker for the calendar year, and both tours were promoted by AEG Presents partner Messina Touring Group. Swift’s Reputation stadium tour ended with two nights at Tokyo Dome in Japan in November, with more than 100,000 tickets sold and just under $15 million grossed.

Anschutz Entertainment Group, the sports/venue/concert promoter, has pledged to support Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiatives’ (SIGBI)’s development of an LGBTQ+ anti-bias training standard.

Before the Stonewall Inn event, the first annual SIGBI Summit luncheon took place at Spring Place in the Soho district of New York City, with panelists including Adam Eli, co-founder of Voices4; Stacy Lentz, president and CEO of SIGBI; Gregory Lewis, Executive Director and CEO, True Colors United; Devin Norelle, a transgender advocate and Assistant Editor at Out magazine; Angelica Torres, a NY-based activist; and Emanuel Xavier, poet and Gay City News Impact Award recipient.

The SIGBI Summit aims to ensure that AEG and SIGBI have a broad understanding of the issues facing the LGBTQ+ community and to engage with a wide number of LGBTQ+ organizations. AEG, Hawkins Mikita, Spring Place and Tie The Knot will provide advice and feedback to SIGBI and the anti-bias training experts, as they develop the new training standard.

“As an owner and operator of venues, festivals, clubs and theaters around the world, AEG is committed to providing welcoming and safe spaces for all of our fans,” said Dan Beckerman, President and CEO of AEG. “As a leader in sports and live entertainment, we recognize that we have a key role to play in promoting diversity and inclusion for everyone, and we intend to continue using our voice and resources to support equity for all.”

Kevin McDowell, Executive Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer, AEG, added “New York City will be as vibrant as ever, with Pride festivities occurring throughout the city in the month of June. We proudly support and celebrate #Stonewall50 together with the Stonewall Inn and are using this event to focus attention on the need for equity and inclusion while underscoring our unwavering commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.”

SIGBI is a non-profit charitable organization inspired by the struggles and ideals of the LGBTQ rights movement born from the Stonewall Inn Uprising of 1969, considered the most important event of the gay rights liberation movement.