This is the most moving time for Taylor Swift to connect with the sports world during her Eras Tour. The first of six sold-out shows at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium took place on Thursday night.
Swift showed her respect for her friendship with the late Kobe Bryant by giving his daughter Bianka the hat that Swift wears when she performs her hit song “22.” Swift stopped singing for a moment to put the hat on Bianka’s head. The crowd in L.A. roared with approval as if they knew who the child at the front of the stage was and how she was related to one of their city’s biggest sports stars.
Swift also pointed at Vanessa Bryant, who is married to Kobe and Bianka’s mother, before she started singing again.
People in the Bryant family have known the pop star for a long time. In 2015, Kobe Bryant, who won five NBA titles with the Lakers, gave Taylor Swift her own “championship” banner at what was then Staples Center to honor her as the artist with the most sold-out shows there.
Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, who was 13 at the time, died in a chopper crash near Los Angeles four years ago in January.