Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez Reunite in NYC: Inside Their Girls’ Night Out!
Taylor Swift marked a significant career milestone during a girls’ night out with her close friend Selena Gomez in New York City.
The longtime pals enjoyed dinner at the classy Monkey Bar in Midtown Manhattan on Saturday, May 31, while Taylor’s boyfriend Travis Kelce attended the annual Big Slick charity live show in Kansas City to support pediatric cancer research, as highlighted in photos shared by Deuxmoi.
The Monkey Bar, which connects to the historic Hotel Elysée, originally opened its doors in the 1930s as a piano bar catering to high-profile guests. The venue got its name from a charming hand-painted wraparound mural of monkeys created by caricaturist Charlie Vella in the 1950s.
At 35, Swift had much to celebrate with 32-year-old Gomez, especially after announcing on Friday, May 30, that she had acquired the rights to her master recordings. For several years, Swift has dedicated considerable time to re-recording her initial six albums due to not owning the original versions.
Swift’s masters became contentious when music mogul Scooter Braun acquired her former record label, Big Machine Records, in 2019, which granted him control over the six albums she recorded for them. This resulted in a well-publicized feud between Swift and Braun, culminating in Braun selling her master recordings to Shamrock Capital for an estimated $300 million in 2020.
On Friday, Swift amazed her fans by revealing in an open letter that she had reached an unexpected agreement with Shamrock to regain control of her masters.
“I’m working to organize my thoughts into something coherent, but presently my mind is a collage of memories—an array of moments when I daydreamed about, longed for, and yearned for a chance to share this news,” she wrote.
“I nearly gave up on the thought that this could become a reality after 20 years of having this dream dangled and taken away. But that’s all behind us now.”
Swift expressed her gratitude towards her dedicated Swifties for their support during her Eras Tour, which she credited for helping her secure the deal for her masters.
“I’ve been overcome with tears of joy at random moments ever since I learned this is truly happening,” Swift shared. “I can finally say these words: All the music I’ve ever created… now belongs… to me.”
Swift received support from many of her famous friends and fans following the announcement, including her boyfriend Kelce and close friend Gomez.
“Yes, you did that Tay! So proud,” Gomez commented on Instagram.
Perhaps no one was more thrilled than Swift super-fan Flavor Flav, who refers to himself as the “King Swiftie.”
“Congratulations to Taylor Swift @taylorswift13,” Flavor Flav posted on X. “May you find peace and joy and continue to thrive. This community is elated for you!!! 🙏🏾🔥👍🏾✨💛🫶🏾.”
Even Swift’s former rival, Braun, offered his congratulations in a statement to Us Weekly on Friday, saying, “I am happy for her.”
In addition to the momentous news regarding her masters, Swift also provided an honest update on the status of the re-recorded version of her 2017 Grammy-nominated album Reputation.
“To be fully transparent: I haven’t even re-recorded a quarter of it,” Swift disclosed in her letter to fans. “The Reputation album was incredibly tied to that particular time in my life, and I faced challenges each time I tried to recreate it. All that defiance, the desire to be understood while feeling willfully misunderstood, that desperate hope, that mix of shame and mischief.”
Swift continued, “Honestly, it’s the one album among the first six that I believed couldn’t be improved by redoing it—not the music, the photos, or the videos. Therefore, I kept postponing it. There will eventually be an opportunity (if you’re interested) for unreleased vault tracks from that album to emerge.”
