Taylor Swift Napoleon Dynamite Voices: The Toy Story 5 Story Fans Are Repeating

Taylor Swift Napoleon Dynamite voices stole the show on 1 November 2026, when Swift revealed at a New York City screening of Toy Story 5 that she and her best friend Abigail Anderson Berard have spent more than two decades talking to each other in Napoleon Dynamite voices. Swift told the audience that the joke has lasted from their schooldays into married life, adding: "We still do this. It's something our husbands have to put up with."

At a glance: Taylor Swift Napoleon Dynamite moment

Event	Toy Story 5 screening and Q&A in New York City on 1 November 2026
The reveal	Swift and Abigail Anderson Berard still talk in Napoleon Dynamite voices
Swift's line	"We still do this. It's something our husbands have to put up with."
Friendship	Met as freshmen at Hendersonville High School; inspired "Fifteen"
Same-day football	Swift was not at the Chiefs' 28-24 loss to the Broncos in Denver
Song in focus	"I Knew It, I Knew You" from Toy Story 5, a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1

Taylor Swift Napoleon Dynamite voices: what she said

USA Today reported that Swift shared the story at the screening, which was followed by a question-and-answer session and reception with Toy Story 5 co-director and screenwriter Andrew Stanton. Swift explained that the friendship between the film's characters Bonnie and Blaze reminded her of her own bond with Abigail. Heavy reported that Swift attended the screening at 10 a.m. ET and stayed for the Q&A.

Swift described moving to Nashville at 14 and feeling like the new kid at school. "When I moved to Nashville, when I was 14, you're the new kid in school," she said, according to USA Today. "But there was one girl named Abigail, and she even has curly hair, too, like Blaze. And the two of us, all we wanted to do was talk in Napoleon Dynamite voices." She then mimicked the voice as she described how the friends still joke with each other.

It is a rare, unguarded moment: a private joke, named in public, with her husband Travis Kelce folded into it in a single casual phrase. Heavy called it a rare "husband" comment, and fans have seized on the wording as much as on the impression itself.

Swift then explained why the film had hit her so hard. "When you find that person who just completely sees you for the strange little genre that is you at your purest, that hit me so hard watching the film," she said.

A friendship fans already know from "Fifteen"

Abigail is not a new name to Swift's audience. USA Today reported that the two met as freshmen at Hendersonville High School, and that Swift later wrote about their friendship in her 2008 song "Fifteen". Heavy added the lyric that makes the connection unmistakable: "You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail, and soon enough you're best friends. Laughing at the other girls, who think they're so cool, we'll be out of here as soon as we can."

Anderson Berard also appeared in Swift's 2020 Netflix documentary "Miss Americana", according to USA Today, and married Charles Berard in 2022. Heavy reported that Anderson and her husband attended Swift and Kelce's wedding at Madison Square Garden on 3 July 2026.

Why Swift was in New York instead of Denver

The same day Swift was in New York, the Kansas City Chiefs were playing the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. Parade reported that Swift was not in attendance, noting that she rarely attends away games and had instead attended an all-guild Toy Story 5 screening in New York City as part of her campaign for "I Knew It, I Knew You".

The New York Post reported that the Chiefs lost 28-24 to the Broncos in a game that came down to the final play. It also reported that Swift did not attend the Chiefs' 20-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on 25 October 2026 in Seattle, and that she has been to every Chiefs home game at Arrowhead Stadium so far this season, including the 22-6 win over the Chargers in Week 6. That pattern was already the subject of our report on the Seahawks friendship-bracelet backlash. No report suggests Swift chose the screening over the game as a snub.

The awards-season reason for the screening

USA Today reported that the screening comes amid awards buzz surrounding "I Knew It, I Knew You", which could earn Swift her first Oscar nomination. The song is her 15th No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, a first for Pixar, and she performed it at the Academy Museum Gala on 17 October 2026, in her first full-band performance since the Eras Tour.

The chart story backs that up. A report on 1 November 2026 noted that "I Knew It, I Knew You" held the No. 1 position on Billboard's Top Movie Songs chart for a fourth consecutive month, topping the September 2026 chart after previous No. 1 finishes in June, July and August 2026. During September 2026, the song generated 40.5 million streams in the United States and sold approximately 7,000 downloads. Released in June 2026, it also debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, where it remained for two weeks. She was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame that week, as covered in our report on her Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame induction.

What to watch next

First, watch whether "I Knew It, I Knew You" converts its awards buzz into a first Oscar nomination for Swift, as USA Today flagged as a possibility. No nomination has been announced in the reports covered here. Second, watch the Chiefs' next home game: Parade reported that the Chiefs return home to host the New York Jets on Sunday, 8 November 2026. Third, watch whether a longer clip of the Napoleon Dynamite impression itself emerges from the Q&A, as that is the detail fans are most likely to share next.