Joe Biden mixes up Britney Spears and Taylor Swift in awkward Thanksgiving speech
Joe Biden accidentally mixed up Britney Spears and Taylor Swift. (Getty Images/White House)
President Joe Biden may have accidentally just ticked off Swifties, after mixing Taylor Swift up with Britney Spears during an annual White House Thanksgiving ceremony.
Biden stood before a host of reporters on Monday (20 November) – which just so happened to be his 81st birthday – and pardoned two turkeys named Liberty and Bell as part of a longstanding presidential tradition to mark Thanksgiving week.
While speaking at the pardoning ceremony, Biden tried to offer up some relatable pop culture commentary, but it backfired spectacularly when he mixed up two of the world’s most famous pop stars.
The president’s joke was that the competition to be chosen as this year’s turkey was just as fierce as the competition to get tickets to Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour or Taylor Swift’s ongoing Eras World Tour.
All going well, he would then have made reference to Swift’s latest gig in Rio de Janeiro, which had to be postponed due to sweltering temperatures.
That’s not exactly what Biden got out when it came down to the crunch.
The president told reporters: Just to get here, Liberty and Bell had to beat some tough odds and competition. They had to work hard, show patience, and be willing to travel over 1,000 miles.
“You could say this is even harder than getting a ticket to the Renaissance tour, or, or, or for Britney’s tour. It’s kind of warm in Brazil right now.”
The thought was there. The execution was not.
Not only is Britney Spears not on tour, but neither is Beyoncé. Her Renaissance tour finished in October.
Taylor Swift is, however, on tour, and currently in the middle of an international leg. The “Shake It Off” singer had to postpone a gig on Saturday (18 November) in Rio de Janeiro, due to extreme heat levels.
The day prior, a 23-year-old fan had sadly died at Swift’s opening show in the Brazilian city.
Of course, once Britney, Taylor, and Beyoncé fans caught wind of Biden’s mix-up, his harmless mistake quickly went viral online.
Some were shocked, if not a little horrified, that Biden – who, in fairness, likely has more important things on his mind these days – could have possibly mixed up Swift and Spears.
“Joe Biden mixing up Taylor Swift and Britney Spears is unreal,” tweeted one person who caught a clip of the speech.
“What do you mean Joe Biden accidentally said Britney Spears instead of Taylor?” asked a second.
And a third teased. “ENOUGH! We as a country need to deplatform Joe Biden for this unacceptable mistake. I am literally shaking as I write this. Britney, I am so sorry.”
Others were a little bit more forgiving of Biden’s mix-up.
“To be fair, everyone’s brain is like this the week of Thanksgiving,” reasoned one viewer.
“In Joe Biden’s defense, it actually would be pretty hard to get tickets if Britney Spears went on a renaissance tour,” noted a second.
“I guess Joe Biden confused Taylor Swift to Britney Spears. Poor guy, lol but hey they are both badass powerful women,” a third pointed out.
The White House has not issued a comment on Biden muddling up the pop idols, which comes as some voters express concerns about the president’s age ahead of next year’s election.
