Spielberg also introduced Swift at the ceremony.

Taylor Swift hands Steven Spielberg her phone to film her dancing with Travis Kelce at Songwriters Hall of Fame induction

Spielberg also introduced Swift at the ceremony.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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June 12, 2026 2:38 p.m. ET

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Taylor Swift and Steven Spielberg at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Credit:

L. Busacca/Getty

- Taylor Swift handed Steven Spielberg her phone to film her and Travis Kelce dancing at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala.

- The *Disclosure Day* director filmed Swift and Kelce for a few seconds before shifting his focus to John Fogerty on stage.

- Spielberg introduced Swift with effusive remarks as she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame that evening.

Taylor Swift just starred in a new film directed by Steven Spielberg!

Okay, that makes it sound a little more official than it actually is. The "Shake It Off" singer was honored at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala in New York City on Thursday, and during John Fogerty's performance of his Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Fortunate Son," *Vanity Fair* captured footage of Swift whipping out her phone to film herself dancing to the tune with her fiancé Travis Kelce.

Spielberg, who was seated nearby, appears to offer to film the couple from a better angle. Hilariously, he only points Swift's phone at the couple for a few seconds before turning to capture the action on the stage, and then films his wife Kate Capshaw.

The *Disclosure Day* filmmaker appeared at the ceremony to introduce Swift, and shared high praise for the singer during his remarks at the podium. Spielberg described Swift as "a singular artist and a genuine phenomenon whose place in our culture rivals that of the composers of the [Great] American Songbook, Lennon and McCartney of the '60s, and the singer-songwriters of the '70s like Carole King and Stevie 'Let's Go' Nicks and your namesake James Taylor."

The *Minority Report* director indicated that Swift personally asked him to introduce her at the ceremony, and he was happy to oblige, but quickly became overwhelmed by the daunting task of saying something original about her.

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift; Steven Spielberg.

Kevin Mazur/Getty; Karwai Tang/WireImage

"What could I possibly say about Taylor that has not already been said?" he asked. "Just thinking about how much true, false, and plain crazy stuff has been written about you boggles the mind."

Spielberg said that he experimented with AI to try to gather data about Swift's cultural footprint. "Just out of curiosity, I asked AI if it could tell me how many words have been written about Taylor Swift. And you know what? It couldn't tell me," he said. "Then I asked it how many words have been written *by* Taylor Swift, and it couldn't tell me that either. And I just thought, 'Wow, she is such a force that the depth of her achievements defy AI.' And I should've known that something that starts with 'artificial' wouldn't have a clue, because no algorithm can replace the soul of a true original who defies the status quo and easily refuses to be categorized."

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The *E.T.* filmmaker shared his appreciation for the life-affirming and community-building qualities of Swift's music. "Through her songs, she makes us believe that we are in this together, and together, we can live, love, make mistakes, succeed, fail, and yet continue to believe in our own self-worth," he said. "Her connection with her billions of fans is impermeable and inspirational, and encompassing that it literally offers all of us a way to find true connection in a world that is clearly struggling with so many overwhelming challenges."

Steven Spielberg.

John Nacion/Variety via Getty

Spielberg also observed the difference between how fans engage with films and with music." I love making movies, but I don't think I will ever fill stadiums of multi-generational fans who want to recite the dialogue from *Indiana Jones*," he said. "That's just not gonna happen. But when Taylor steps onto the stage, her words are sung back to her by a devoted audience that does not wanna be anywhere else in the world in that moment."

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The filmmaker also made several not-so-subtle references to Swift's song titles throughout his remarks, including "All Too Well," "Mirrorball," and "This is Me Trying."

"Somehow, Taylor knows us all too well," he said. "So tonight is a recognition that while she wrote 'You Belong With Me,' in the most profound way, we belong to her. So thank you, Taylor, for the gift of your stories, and for insisting on being an authentic voice in a world where the line between real and fake is increasingly blurry. You are our mirrorball, and tonight to again steal from a great, great songwriter, I just want you to know that this is me trying to tell everyone that in my book, you are evermore."

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