Taylor Swift brought back her annual Fourth of July party this year and served up a rare look inside the festivities on her Instagram this morning.
Swift shared a carousel of photos, writing, “Happy belated Independence Day from your local neighborhood independent girlies 😎 See you tonight Kansas Cityyy.” Friends she celebrated with included Selena Gomez and the Haim sisters. Notably, the Instagram post gave fans the first new photos of Swift and Gomez together this year.
Swift was famous for her annual Independence Day parties at her Watch Hill, Rhode Island, home. She spoke to The Guardian in August 2019 about why she stopped having them after 2016, crediting it to her “disillusionment” with America. Swift sang more about her complicated feelings toward the U.S. in her 2018 Lover track, “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince.”
Swift’s last big Fourth of July party featured her then-boyfriend Tom Hiddleston wearing his infamous “I <3 TS” tank, along with many members of her then-squad joining her to celebrate, including a pregnant Blake Lively.
Swift spoke to Vogue in September 2019 about that 2016 summer and why she disappeared after. “You know, the summer before that election, all people were saying was She’s calculated. She’s manipulative. She’s not what she seems. She’s a snake. She’s a liar. These are the same exact insults people were hurling at Hillary Clinton, [then presidential candidate],” Swift said, addressing the reason for her political silence. “Would I be an endorsement or would I be a liability? Look, snakes of a feather flock together. Look, the two lying women. The two nasty women. Literally, millions of people were telling me to disappear. So I disappeared. In many senses.”
Swift has become much more public this year following the start of her Eras tour and breakup from her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn whom she dated for six years.
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
