Bill Clinton Didn’t Try to Go Backstage at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton isn’t sure he has this presidential privilege!

Clinton, 78, shared what it was like taking his daughter, Chelsea, 44, granddaughter, Charlotte, 10, and their friends to one of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour shows during an appearance on Live With Kelly and Mark on Monday, November 25. But when host Kelly Ripa asked if he tried to swing a backstage visit to meet Swift, Clinton had a surprising response.

“Do they look at you and go, ‘If anybody can get us backstage, it’s you?’” Ripa asked, to which Clinton responded, “They didn’t, and I probably couldn’t have. We didn’t [go backstage].”

Though the 42nd president didn’t get a personal meet-and-greet with Swift, 34, he had a great time anyway. Clinton and company attended one of the pop star’s Toronto concerts last week.

“I’d never been to one of her concerts before … I get it now. I understand why she has such an impact on people, and why a lot of these young girls are so captivated,” Clinton said.

Clinton praised Swift for her three-hour set, saying it’s a “very respectful thing to do for the audience.” Ripa agreed, “She makes it worth their while.”

Clinton continued, “I was fascinated watching our crowd of kids, especially my granddaughter, standing there with the wife of one of Chelsea’s friends from 20-plus years ago and her daughters and all of them up there singing. They knew all the words to all the songs.”

Clinton isn’t the only big name to treat his family to an Eras Tour concert. Dwayne Johnson revealed that, for the first time in his career, he had to pull strings to procure tickets to the record-breaking tour for a friend.

“It’s never happened in my career. Usually, I don’t have to pull strings … I just make it happen,” Johnson, 52, told Entertainment Tonight in an interview published Sunday, November 24. “In this case, it was for a good friend of mine who was like, ‘Please. Taylor. Last concert.’ I’m never good at asking for that kind of stuff. I’m good at giving it. Hate asking for stuff. I don’t do it.”

He continued, “But in this case, made a little call, Taylor made it happen, [we got] tickets … [my friend was] happy. I got the picture of the happy ladies who were there. I appreciate that about Taylor.”

Swift is preparing to wrap up her Eras Tour, which began in March 2023 and will conclude in Vancouver on December 8.