If Taylor Swift is in New Zealand right now, she's keeping it quiet from her fans.
The rumours began when Maggie Shipstead sent out a single tweet saying she'd seen Taylor Swift at Los Angeles Airport. Shipstead, who was flying to New Zealand, later admitted she didn't know where Swift was flying from or to.
But that one tweet led to news reports and a flurry of fans claiming to have seen Swift at Auckland Airport around 12 hours later. Suspiciously, no one had any photos, which, in 2015, with iPhones in every pocket, makes it seem a little unlikely.
But it could be true. Which leads us to ...
Tay-Tay's always at the AMAs. Last year she stole the show in a sleek green dress, and this year she was up for six awards, of which she won three. But she was a no-show on the red carpet, didn't perform and by all accounts wasn't there. So where exactly is she? According to Associated Press, she was "out of the country filming a new music video".
Okay then. Maybe she is in New Zealand. That leads us to ...
Shortland Street star Ido Drent says he was on the same Air New Zealand flight as Swift, and claims his young son 'Baz' was "flirting" with the pop star.
Which might explain ...
According to a mid-morning Facebook post, Swifty was spotted at this East Tamaki location by a high school student. We called Denray Marine Services, and the nice lady who answered the phone told us there was indeed a single film crew on location but "that isn't unusual ... and they're just finishing up for the day". She also admitted she wouldn't know what Taylor Swift looked like if she was standing in front of her.
Hmmm. That complicates things. But it does lead us to this ...
Mid-afternoon, a reader sent the Herald this photo of a film crew on the West Coast's Bethalls Beach filming "a girl in a blue dress in the water". Is it Taylor Swift? The reader, who wished to remain anonymous, didn't know. The pic is so grainy, and it's taken from so far away, it's hard to tell. Here it is:
![[object HTMLTextAreaElement]](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/WS4Y6XFHOH2SOPWSZRPVO5FTKI.jpg?auth=9b248ba1c632504b165302ecbf9e90aa3795badb8f70b8aac3ee47f28313e977&width=16&height=9&quality=70&smart=true)
The reader explains: "There was a large amount of cars, four by fours and a couple of tents set up. We approached the area and were politely told to walk right around as they were filming. I took a few photos and was quickly told no media was allowed in the area- when I asked why not I was told there was a lot of security around and they would make me delete the pics."
Which leads us ...
Taylor Swift is due to kick off her Australian tour this Saturday in Sydney. This morning, the Sydney Morning Herald reported the Bad Blood singer will shoot her new music video in the Blue Mountains, a location about an hour out of Sydney. "Look I can't tell you anything, I'm not trying to throw you a curve ball ... and don't quote me," a Universal Music rep told SMH.
It's sooooo complicated. Making matters worse is the ...
Tay-Tay has a voracious appetite for social media. She tweets regularly, Instagrams often, Facebooks all the time. But she's been completely silent for several days now. Here are her last posts on all platforms:
- nzherald.co.nz
The Australian site cited a 'heightened threat level' as the issue.