Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed Wednesday the agency has not received any credible threats involving Super Bowl LVIII and pop superstar Taylor Swift, who will likely attend the game in support of the Kansas City Chiefs and her boyfriend, tight end Travis Kelce.
Mayorkas, in a press conference Wednesday ahead of Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, was asked about the recent pushback against Swift’s viability at NFL games and if there are any “credible” threats as a result.
“We have not — I would defer also to my partners across law enforcement spectrum,” Mayorkas said. “But I have to say we are extraordinarily vigilant when we bring 65,000 people together in a stadium, when we have 330,000 people visiting the city for a major sporting event and when we have millions of people around the world watching it. … Our priorities are the safety and security of everyone in attendance, and that is what we are focused upon.”
“And when there’s an additional celebrity who will bring more attention, we are already at a heightened state of vigilance and fulfilling our responsibility, just as we do every single day,” he added.
Critics emerged last year when Swift’s relationship with Kelce became public, with some upset over the attention Swift receives during NFL games she attends.
Kelce and the Chiefs will square off against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EST.
It is Las Vegas’s first time hosting the sporting event, which is expected to bring in an estimated $600 million in revenue to the Sin City, NewsNation reported. NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.
Swift performing concerts in Japan this week, with the final show of the bunch Saturday. The Japanese Embassy said Swift should “comfortably” make the Super Bowl in Las Vegas before the event kicks off.
The fury over Swift’s presence at NFL games has been fueled further recently by swirling conservative conspiracy theories centered on the unfounded idea that the league is rigging games to make sure the singer and her boyfriend’s team both make and win the Super Bowl, increasing the attention on a potential Swift endorsement of President Biden’s reelection bid.
Swift’s potential involvement in politics came to the forefront last week after The New York Times published a report about Biden aides vying for the support of the “All Too Well” singer, as the campaign sets its focus on November’s general election.
The singer has not spoken out about endorsing Biden’s 2024 run, but she previously voiced her support for him in the 2020 presidential election during an interview with V Magazine. Last year, a single Instagram post from Swift directing followers to the nonpartisan nonprofit Vote.org prompted 35,000 new voter registrations.