WEST HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) – A Connecticut woman and her son got the surprise of a lifetime from Taylor Swift last Saturday, when the singer singled out the boy to give him a special gift — for the second time in a decade.
Stephanie and Leyton Barnett were in the crowd at Swift’s concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts, when Swift hand-picked Leyton to come toward the stage. She then gave him her hat during a performance of her song “22,” just as she has done for other attendees of concerts on her current Eras tour.
“It was very exciting, it was amazing,” Leyton said.
But Leyton’s mother, speaking with Nexstar’s WTNH, said this was not the first time Swift has reached out to them personally.
Back in 2014, Stephanie Barnett shared a social-media post about her previous struggles with infertility issues, and how one of Swift’s songs helped her to cope. Swift reached out in response, and later showed up at their West Haven home with Christmas gifts.
She says she’s been a die-hard Swiftie ever since, and couldn’t believe she got the chance to interact with the pop star again last weekend.
“Right as the song started, her management team came up to the end of the aisle and waved us on, brought us to the end of the stage and he got the hat,” Stephanie said.
Leyton and his mother now hope to get tickets to see Swift again someday, despite their troubles in securing tickets to her Massachusetts show. In the meantime, he’s still got Swift’s hat — which he now keeps in a special case.
