Taylor Swift kicked off the final city of the first leg of the U.S. tour on Thursday night with the first of six shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. It was a star-studded affair with celebrities like Mindy Kaling, Nick and Vanessa Lachey, Ashley Tisdale and Madelyn Cline in attendance.
Vanessa Bryant, the widow of late NBA-star Kobe Bryant, took her daughters — 19-year-old Natalia and 6-year-old Bianka — to the show. Swift has a history with the Bryants dating back to 2015 when the basketball legend surprised her on stage with a banner at the Staples Center for her achievement of selling the arena out for a record 16th straight night.
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On Thursday night, it was Swift’s turn to surprise the Bryant family. Each night of the Eras Tour, Swift and her team select one fan to come to the end of the stage to receive the hat she wears during the upbeat performance of her hit song 22. It has become one of the sweetest moments of the mega-popular, 3-and-a-half hour show.
For L.A.’s first show, Swift selected Bianka Bryant for the honor, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the stadium. Vanessa shared the moment on her Instagram account and you can see video of the moment here:
🚨| Taylor Swift giving the “22” hat to Bianka (Kobe Bryant’s daughter) #TStheErasTour #LATSTheErasTour
— The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) August 4, 2023
Bryant also honored Kobe and 13-year-old daughter Gianna — both of whom tragically died in a helicopter crash in January of 2020 — with her denim jacket and friendship bracelets. The jacket was adorned with a picture of Kobe and Taylor Swift from that show back in 2015 and a patch that says the lyric “say you’ll remember me” in a heart. Her bracelets included ones that read “KOB” and “GIGI” in gold letters.
It was a truly beautiful moment.