Taylor Swift has been named Time magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year. In honour of the recognition, she posed on the cover with none other than her feline friend: Benjamin Button.
The 12-time Grammy winner took to social media to share a photo of her eye-catching cover, in which she’s seen standing forcefully in a black long-sleeve bodysuit and a pair of opaque black tights. Nestled around her neck - almost like a scarf - is her brown and white Ragdoll cat, whose big blue eyes stare directly at the camera.
In her Instagram caption, Swift poked fun at her decision to feature her cat. “Time Magazine: We’d like to name you Person of the Yea-,” she wrote, adding: “Me: Can I bring my cat.”
For years, Swifties - the nickname for Swift’s devotees - have been aware of her longtime love for felines. In addition to Benjamin Button, she’s also a mom to two Scottish Folds: Meredith Grey, who she brought home in 2011, and Olivia Benson, who she got in 2014.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, some fans were not surprised that Swift would ask for her cat to be featured on the cover of Time.
“The one thing I absolutely love about her (as a cat mom myself) is that she will ALWAYS find a way to talk or show her cats. And I respect her for that,” one user wrote, in response to Swift’s Time cover.
“Taylor Swift chosen as Time’s Person of the Year. And the fact that she brought her cat is the cherry on top,” said someone else.
“Taylor Swift insisted on her cat being on the Time magazine cover with her,” a third person chimed in. “Iconic.”
Meanwhile, fellow cat owners seemed to resonate with Swift’s insistence on including her cat in the photoshoot.
“No, because I’d bring my cats too, I get it,” said one person.
“How does she get her cats to look so photogenic because I could never,” another user said.
Benjamin Button may be a Time magazine cover star, but it’s her cat Olivia Benson that’s reportedly the third-richest pet in the world. Earlier this year, a report from All About Cats claimed the musician’s second oldest cat has a net worth of $97m. The ranking was compiled using the Instagram analytics of world famous cat-fluencers - including most followers, likes, and engagement rates - and how much they could make per Instagram post. Unlike the other world’s richest pets, many of who are social media influencers, Olivia has made her fortune appearing in commercials and music videos.
The feline - whose namesake comes from Mariska Hagitay’s character in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - has starred alongside Swift in a number of commercials for DirectTV, Diet Coke, and AT&T. She’s also made cameos in Swift’s music videos for her tracks “Blank Space” and “Me!”.
In fact, it was on set for the “Me!” music video where Swift met Benjamin Button for the first time, though she hadn’t adopted him yet. Back in 2019, the musician confirmed she brought home the furry friend during an Instagram Live with Panic! At the Disco’s Bendon Urie - who’s featured in the song and music video for “Me!”.
“He was just a cute kitten who didn’t have a home,” she told fans at the time, according to People. She explained that Benjamin was part of a program that “tries to get cute kittens adopted by putting them in commercials and stuff”.
Swift revealed that the cat handler asked if she wanted to hold him before shooting their scene together, adding: “She handed me this tiny cat and he just starts purring and… he looks at me like: ‘You’re my mom, and we’re going to live together.’ I fell in love. I looked at Brendon and he’s like: ‘You’re going to get the cat aren’t you?’”
“He literally looked at me like: ‘Adopt me please.’ And I was like: ‘Okay I’m going to do that,” Swift continued. “He’s just the best boy. He’s the best little guy.”
The pop star’s Time magazine Person of the Year cover comes amid her widely-successful Eras Tour, her record-breaking concert film, and her sweet romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
