Taylor Swift Returns to Social Media to Support Kobe Bryant’s Daughter Natalia as She Graduates from USC
Taylor Swift is showing her support for Kobe Bryant’s daughter, Natalia. On Sunday, May 18, Kobe’s eldest daughter, Natalia, shared a TikTok video of her lip-syncing to Swift’s song “Nothing New (Taylor’s Version)” alongside three friends. And who should have liked the video, but Swift herself!
The clip shows the four recent University of Southern California graduates wearing matching white minidresses with their red-and-gold commencement stoles. The quartet is smiling widely and throwing their hands in the air as they celebrate their achievement in the 15-second clip.
The lyrics of 35-year-old Swift’s tune are particularly appropriate for 22-year-old Natalia as they include the line, “How can a person know everything at 18 but nothing at 22? And will you still want me when I’m nothing new?” touching on the uncertainty new college graduates often feel.
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Natalia Bryant (second from right) and three friends celebrate their USC graduation.
Natalia Bryant/TikTok
Natalia included a few special nods to her late father Kobe while accepting her diploma from USC on Friday, May 16. After she graduated cum laude her mother Vanessa shared the sweet ways in which she honored the basketball legend, who died in 2020, via a video shared to Instagram. The clip showed that Natalia’s graduation sash had “Thank you Mom & Dad,” embroidered inside in USC’s signature yellow and red colors.
The sash also featured her father’s sheath logo, which, in a 2014 Esquire interview, Kobe explained was inspired by a samurai sword and meant “raw talent.”
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And while her late father, who tragically died along with her sister Gianna Bryant and seven others in a helicopter crash in 2020, couldn’t be there in person, the Bryants had the support of their Lakers family in owner Jeanie Buss at the ceremony. Buss, 63, personally Natalia her diploma on stage. “Thank you @jeaniebuss for making this milestone even more special. #LakersFamily,” Vanessa wrote in her caption on Instagram, with Natalia adding, “Thank you @jeaniebuss ❤️.”
Swifties were excited to see her presence on social media in liking Natalia’s post, as Swfit has been taking some time away from the spotlight since wrapping her record-breaking Eras tour at the end of last year. And with her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, 35, also enjoying the off-season, the pair are making the most of some time off together.
“They have been traveling nonstop and very much enjoy it,” a source told PEOPLE exclusively back in April. “They are hanging out with friends, too. It’s a special time for them.”
