Hugh Grant has spoken about doing Tequila shots with Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, during her Eras Tour show at Wembley this summer. You can watch the full video interview above.
In June, Swift’s record-breaking live behemoth touched down in the UK for a series of dates across the country. As well as a legion of fans, Swift was watched by a whole host of celebrities – including Hugh Grant.
Taking to social media after the show, Grant wrote: “Dear Taylor, you have an incredible show, an amazing and [very] hospitable team and an excellent if gigantic boyfriend. Thanks so much from one ageing London boy, wife and thrilled 8 year old.”
Speaking about the experience in a new interview with NME, Grant revealed that his daughter is a huge Swifite – so he “put out some feelers” to his team about getting tickets. “To my astonishment, [Swift and her team] said: ‘Come along’.”
Grant went on to say his daughter and her friend were “bopping away” during the show, while he hung out with Swift’s American footballer boyfriend Travis Kelce in a VIP area. “We were doing Tequila shots. We got absolutely smashed,” he explained. “I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Responding to Grant’s initial tweet on June 23 after the show, Swift wrote: “As a long time Hugh Grant stan this tweet is very important to my culture.” Grant told NME it was “extremely nice” to hear Swift was a fan. “She and her team are very hospitable and it’s a great show.”
As a long time Hugh Grant stan this tweet is very important to my culture
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 24, 2024
Read the rest of our chat with Grant below, in which he reflects on covering Radiohead‘s ‘Creep’ as part of his role in new horror film Heretic – and explains why he’s just not that into music.
Hey Hugh, tell us about singing Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ in your new film Heretic?
Hugh Grant: “I don’t do it very well. I think it’s a very difficult song to sing. I researched it a bit and they kind of hate it. One of them sketched it off, they recorded it and they never really bothered to put on proper lyrics [that] they liked. Everyone went mad for it and called for it at every Radiohead concert. Very difficult to sing. I didn’t crack that one.”
Was this the first time you really heard it?
“I’m not at all cool but even I’ve heard ‘Creep’.”
Did you end up going down a Radiohead rabbit hole?
“I didn’t. I don’t think Radiohead was my character Mr Reed’s cup of tea. I had him down as more of a Bach man. He prides himself on being down with the kids though. I think he was quite a successful, trendy professor at some midwestern university in the late ’80s and early ’90s, so he’s good at making young people-friendly references like that but in the privacy of his own room, it’s Bach and Beethoven.”
Mr Reed also mentions ‘The Air That I Breathe’ by The Hollies, who famously sued Radiohead because of how much ‘Creep’ sounded like it…
“And then Lana Del Rey came up with her song ‘Get Free’ [which also features in Heretic] and she got sued. I can’t hear any similarities between the three songs though.”
It’s an interesting subject, isn’t it – did you do any more research?
“No, but it is interesting because you see it in films as well. When I was studying English at university, there was a whole discussion about what’s plagiarism, what’s homage and what is completely accidental? I tried to write a book once. I had about half of a novel and thought it was pretty good. I looked at it again a year later and realised it was a rip-off of, I shan’t tell you what book, but I didn’t even realise I was doing it. So sometimes it’s accidental.”
You’ve said in previous interviews that you’re not into music like other people are….
“I’ve been a freak all my life. When I was at school, every Thursday morning the New Musical Express came out and every boy in the class had a copy. You were no one if you didn’t. It was either that or Melody Maker. You had to have it… and I never had it. Wasn’t interested. I tried to get interested though. I went to a few concerts. I remember going to Soft Machine. I saw Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I went to an Elton John concert at Watford Football Ground. He was supported by Rod Stewart and Nazareth, so it must have been quite early [in his career].
“Anyway, I couldn’t concentrate because I smoked 20 Player’s No. 6 cigarettes, which were the cheapest fags you could get at the time. I just felt so sick. For some reason, I never [got into music]. There’s something wrong with me. I just don’t enjoy the experience.”
And yet, you tweeted about attending a Taylor Swift concert this summer?
“Well now that is my cup of tea. It’s my daughter who’s mad about Taylor Swift. I’m an amazing dad. I’m an amazing person. I put out some feelers and to my astonishment they said ‘come along’ and I thoroughly enjoyed it. She went mad, my daughter. She brought a friend and they were bopping away and I hung out with Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, who’s an American football player. We did Tequila shots at the back of this kind of hut in the middle of Wembley – and there were a bunch of, I think they were, rappers. I dunno what they were, anyway we all got absolutely smashed on Tequila.”
And Taylor replied to you: ‘As a long time Hugh Grant stan, this tweet is very important to my culture’. That’s quite nice, isn’t it?
“It’s extremely nice. Her and her team, very hospitable – and it’s a brilliant show.”
It was also recently announced that Oasis are reuniting. As a king of ’90s films, you must have come across the Gallagher brothers at some point?
“My ’90s girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley was best friends with Patsy Kensit, who was going out with Liam Gallagher. So we did end up having some strange evenings out. What an odd foursome.”
‘Heretic’ is released in UK cinemas on November 1