Taylor Swift Surprises Fans At NYC’s Stonewall Inn With ‘Shake It Off’ For Gay Pride Month

Taylor Swift showed further support for Gay Pride Month by hitting up New York’s historic Stonewall Inn for a surprise performance honoring the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.

Taylor Swift has been using her massive platform of fame to show her support for equality during Gay Pride Month, and on June 14 she hit up New York’s Stonewall Inn to do so in person with a special performance. The Inn was hosting an invitation only event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 1969, a pivotal moment that led to what is known as the Stonewall Uprising which help launch the gay rights movement. Modern Family‘s Jesse Tyler Ferguson, 43, was performing a set in a show that also included Sara Bareilles and started into a Karaoke version of “Shake It Off” and stopped when Taylor came in for the assist.

She came out from behind a curtain with her guitar in hand and said “I heard this is Jesse’s favorite song to do at karaoke — which is an incredible rumor, I really want to believe it’s true. So if there’s anything you feel like you want to jump in on, a part that you’re really good at, just sing, dance and be yourself — this is a really safe space!” before the pair launched into a rousing version of the song.

Jesse later took to Twitter to share his joy over the moment and thank Taylor for supporting the community. “I’m so happy I don’t have to keep this secret any longer. Look who came to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Stonewall at the Stonewall Inn. @taylorswift13, you are a gem. Thank you for everything you do for the LGBTQ community. We love you!” he wrote.

Her surprise performance came later in the day from when Taylor dropped her new anti-hate anthem “You Need To Calm Down,” which included a major shout out to the gay community within the lyrics. The 28-year-old sings “And control your urges to scream about all the people you hate / ‘Cause shade never made anybody less gay.” It even included props to GLAAD,  the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation advocacy group. In the YouTube lyrics video she sings “You are somebody that we don’t know/But you’re coming at my friends like a missile/Why are you mad?/When you could be GLAAD?” which confirmed she intended the word to be spelled that way.

Taylor even started a Change.org petition at the start of Pride Month to urge the U.S. Senate to support the Equality Act, which would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in their places of work, homes, schools, and other public accommodations. She really has been using her massive fame to help bring support to the LGBTQ community and it’s only two weeks into June. We can’t wait to see what she has in store next.