Reba McEntire is refuting a false news story involving her and Taylor Swift.
On March 16, McEntire shared a post from the Instagram account America Loves Liberty, which purportedly claimed that McEntire was "disappointed" by Swift's behavior during the 2024 Super Bowl when McEntire performed the national anthem.
The post, which misspelled McEntire's last name, alleged, "Reba McIntire talks about how disappointed she was to look up at the big screen while performing The National Anthem, only to see Taylor Swift laughing and drinking and making a mockery of the event."
The article went on to include fabricated quotes from McEntire, stating, "I let her have it afterward. She's an entitled little brat."
McEntire, however, took to her social media to clarify to her fans that she never made such statements.
The country icon captioned her post, "Please don't believe everything you see on the Internet. I did not say this. Taylor is a wonderful artist, strong role model, and has done so much good for so many people and the music industry."
One fan commented, "Auntie Reba is non-problematic. Leave her alone."
Another remarked, "They spelled your name McIntire. So, a made-up story AND a lazy proofreader! 😂."
A third supporter wrote, "SET EM STRAIGHT, RED👏👏👏."
Prior to the 2024 Super Bowl, McEntire expressed her hope to YEPPOST.com that Swift would attend the major event on February 11th.
Some fans were worried about whether the "Cruel Summer" singer would make it to the Super Bowl, considering she had a scheduled performance in Tokyo for her Eras tour just one day prior. However, Swift managed to arrive just in time to watch her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and his team, the Kansas City Chiefs, take on the San Francisco 49ers.
Ultimately, the Chiefs emerged victorious, and Swift and Kelce celebrated by attending a party together.
In an October 2023 interview with YEPPOST.com, McEntire jokingly shared her feelings about Swift's relationship with Kelce.
"Oh, my gosh, I am so mad at her because I had a crush on him," McEntire quipped.
"Now I can't have a crush anymore because he's dating her," she added. "I was so devastated."
McEntire has been a longtime supporter and admirer of Swift. In a December 2023 interview with NBC's TikTok, McEntire disclosed that she had recognized Swift's star potential since the 2007 Country Music Academy Awards. That pivotal night, McEntire witnessed Swift perform her song "Tim McGraw" in front of Tim McGraw.
@nbc Reba KNOWS #NBCTheVoice #nbcpage ♬ original sound - NBC
McEntire recounted how McGraw and his wife, fellow country star Faith Hill, were seated in the front row during Swift's performance.
"She (Swift) walked down the steps, singing and looking directly at Tim McGraw, and I thought, 'This girl's going to be a huge star,'" McEntire recalled. "Firstly, to walk down, sing, and walk downstairs towards your icon whom you really want to impress without a single flaw. I mean, I was impressed."