Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images
Step aside, Chateau Marmont. Over the weekend, a new venue held the title of Los Angeles’s No. 1 celebrity hot spot. For one night only, the place to see and be seen was Paul McCartney’s intimate concert at the 1,200-seat Fonda Theatre. On Saturday, the venue was filled with stars like Taylor Swift, Stevie Nicks, Billie Eilish, and Margot Robbie. The Beatle also played a show on Friday, which appeared to be way less star-studded. Dustin Hoffman was there? Next! Let’s skip right to Saturday’s show, where friends, lovers, and exes all convened in the balcony at the Fonda.
TMZ published photos of Swift leaving the show and chatting with a group of people that included Olivia Rodrigo, with whom Swift has long been rumored to have songwriting-credit-induced beef. In the pictures, it’s hard to tell if the two women are actually chatting with each other or just politely standing in the same circle. Either way, this is big news for fans who felt torn between Swift and her maybe-estranged protégée: The two were brought back together by an 83-year-old British man, just how it was always meant to be.
The mess didn’t end there. Also in attendance was Sabrina Carpenter, another descendant in Swift’s pop-girl family tree and the alleged “blonde girl” who caused so much insecurity for Rodrigo in “drivers license.” Those two are now on good terms — Rodrigo recently told British Vogue she is “so happy” for all of Carpenter’s success — but they don’t exactly seem close. Meanwhile, Swift was forced into proximity with John Mayer, who is widely believed to be the guy she’s singing about on the devastating “Dear John.” According to TMZ, the exes “narrowly missed” each other while leaving the venue. Mayer walked out behind Jake Shane and Tate McRae, while Swift reportedly used a separate exit.
While there was years of drama among the attendees, love persevered. Several celeb couples treated the McCartney concert as a date night. Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart emerged from the Wyoming wilderness for the special occasion, Reneé Rapp and Towa Bird showed up, and rumored couple Billie Eilish and Nat Wolff were photographed leaving together (alongside Eilish’s brother, Finneas, third-wheeling).
That isn’t even half of the famous people who attended. Allow me to take a deep breath and quickly tell you everyone else whose manager pulled some strings to get them into this gig, per TMZ and CNN: Anjelica Huston, Beck, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, Jason Bateman, Owen Wilson, Laura Dern, Steve Carell, Reese Witherspoon, Emma Watson, Seal, Christina Aguilera, Queen Latifah, Gayle King, Joey King (no relation), Steve Carrell, J.J. Abrams, and Elton John. According to the California Post (the New York Post’s new West Coast arm), John was the only A-lister who wasn’t up in the balcony, opting instead for a sectioned-off VIP area.
While the show was packed with stars, only one of them can earn the title of Realest Guy in the Room. That honor goes to Ringo Starr, McCartney’s fellow Beatle, who reportedly dipped before the encore. “I looked up towards the end of the show and he was gone,” one concertgoer told the Post. Can you blame a guy for wanting to beat the traffic? Besides, he’s heard all that music before.
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