Taylor Swift is keeping her side of the street clean when it comes to Céline Dion.
The women caused a stir after they were captured in a warm embrace backstage at the 2024 Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 4. The moment transpired after Dion presented Swift with the Album of the Year award for her 2022 record Midnights.
In the sweet snap, Swift, 34, pulled Dion, 55, in for a hug and blushed as the “My Heart Will Go On” singer smiled for the camera.
The adorable embrace came just minutes after fans took to social media to question the twosome’s exchange on stage before Swift’s acceptance speech. As the pop star made it to the podium she laughed and smiled with her collaborators but seemingly brushed past Dion while grabbing her award and addressing the audience.
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“Taylor Swift fully ignoring Celine Dion like the disrespect even Celine was like … Que?” one person wrote via X, while another said, “Taylor Swift just took the album of the year trophy from Celine Dion without batting an eye and/or acknowledging that a legendary GOAT was handing her the award.”
Others, however, knew the moment was likely credited to Swift being overwhelmed with receiving the night’s biggest honor.
“This is very sweet,” one person said of Swift and Dion’s backstage hug. “It’s an honor to have THE Celine Dion be the one to hand you AOTY.” Another added, “Ladies and gentlemen, these are two legends of the music world, a valuable common frame.”
“My Roman Empire,” a third gushed.
Dion’s appearance at the 66th annual awards show was a surprise, as she was not initially listed as a presenter. The legendary vocalist revealed in December 2022 that she has been battling stiff-person syndrome.
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“I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through,” she told her fans via an Instagram video at the time, sharing that the “very rare neurological disorder” caused her to have “spasms” and was affecting her vocal cords and other muscles.
“I’m working hard with my sports medicine therapist every day to build back my strength and my ability to perform again, but I have to admit it’s been a struggle,” she said.
Sunday’s award show is the second time Dion has been spotted out and about recently. She and her three children, son René-Charles, 23, and twins Nelson and Eddy, 13, went to watch the Vegas Golden Knights play the Montreal Canadiens in October 2023. (Dion shared her three kids with late husband Réne Angélil, who died of throat cancer in January 2016 at age 73.)
Two months later, Dion’s sister, Claudette Dion, gave an update on her condition. “She works hard, but she doesn’t have control of her muscles,” Claudette told Canadian magazine 7 Jours in an interview published in December 2023. “What pains me is that she has always been disciplined. She always worked hard. Mom always told her, ‘You’re going to do this right, you’re going to do this right.’”
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While Dion has been nominated for 16 Grammys throughout her career, taking home five wins, Swift made history on Sunday as the first person to receive AOTY four times. The “Anti-Hero” singer, who was nominated for a total of six awards this year, also took home Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights.
“I would love to tell you this is the best moment of my life but I feel this happy when I write a song, or crack the code to a song I love, or when I’m shot listing a music video or I’m practicing with my band or rehearsing with my dancers or getting ready to fly to Tokyo to perform,” Swift gushed during her AOTY acceptance speech. “For me, the reward is the work.”
