‘She taught me to to defy industry norms’: Taylor Swift hails Beyoncé as ‘guiding light through my career’

Swift paid tribute to Beyonce after singer attended her Eras Tour movie premiere

Taylor Swift has paid moving tribute to Beyoncé, after the fellow superstar turned up at the Hollywood premiere for her Eras Tour movie.

The two pop titans posed together on the red carpet at The Grove in Los Angeles on Wednesday night (11 October), with Beyoncé, 42, wearing a black bodysuit, metallic chest plate and mirrored shades. Swift, 33, went for a pale blue Oscar de la Renta gown with cut-out detailing.

Swift later shared a boomerang on Instagram, which showed the pair sharing a box of popcorn and Beyoncé playfully tossing a few pieces towards the cameras.

In the caption, she shared a tribute to the Lemonade star, writing: “I’m so glad I’ll never know what my life would’ve been like without Beyonce’s influence.

“The way she’s taught me and every artist out here to break rules and defy industry norms. Her generosity of spirit. Her resilience and versatility.

“She’s been a guiding light throughout my career and the fact that she showed up tonight was like an actual fairytale.”

Beyoncé’s appearance at the event had not previously been announced. She has a concert film of her own up for release later this year: Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, which is is set to hit cinemas on 1 December.

Swift’s Eras Tour documentary has already broken records. On 5 October, it had surpassed $100m in global advance ticket sales revenue.

The documentary will chart the tour that Swift has described as “the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far”.

The film’s run time is 165 minutes, and so is not expected to contain the entirety of the Eras tour setlist, which runs to 44 songs and lasts more than three hours.

Swift will continue touring internationally in November, before arriving in Europe in May 2024. Her shows in the UK and Ireland begin in June, before Swift heads back across Europe in July. She returns to the UK for three additional shows in London’s Wembley Stadium in August.

The tour has been lauded for its use of three stages made of digital display units, making it appear as though the singer can perform stunts like diving into a swimming pool and popping up in a new costume.

In a five-star review of the opening night of Swift’s tour in March, The Independent’s Kelsey Barnes wrote “[The tour] designed as a journey through that staggering back catalogue of 10 albums, from her earlier country twang on her self-titled debut to the shift to synth-pop on 1989, then to the subdued folk and alt-rock of Folklore and Evermore.

“Throughout the opening night of the tour, it frequently feels as though the audience is being caught up with Swift’s past, present and future.”

Watch the best moments from the tour here.

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour hits cinemas on Friday 13 October.