How Does Taylor Swift Decide Who Gets Her ‘22’ Hat During the Eras Tour? Recipient Tells All

One of the most special parts of every Eras tour performance is when Taylor Swift gifts her famous “22” hat to a member of the audience. Several videos of Taylor giving her hat to a fan in the ​crowd have gone viral and Swifties love to see their queen interact with fans. However, the sweet moment has many people wondering how the lucky recipient was chosen.

How Does Taylor Swift Decide Who Gets the ‘22’ Hat?

Theories about how Taylor decides who to give her “22” hat to in the audience have been floating around since her Eras tour began in March 2023. Some fans have opened up about their experiences and it seems as though the “Blank Space” singer decides in a couple of different ways.

In August ​2023, a TikTok user told viewers that she was seated near a family whose daughter was chosen for that night’s show.

“About five minutes before the show started, Mama Swift came out. She came up to our section and she gave the heart hands, which was so sweet, and she starts waving,” the content creator explained. “There have been rumors that it’s actually Mama Swift who chooses who receives the ‘22’ hat.”

The woman went on to say that there was a little girl in her section who was “dancing up a storm” and having the “absolute best time since the beginning of the show.” A few songs into the night’s performance, a woman who worked at the stadium came to their section and began dancing with them. After that, the stadium employee asked the child and the two adults she was with to come with her. The group never returned and, while the TikTok user said she “couldn’t get a good look” at the girl’s face who received the “22” hat that night, she explained that it looked “exactly like the little girl” who was seated in her section.

In the comments, another TikTok user confirmed the theory about Taylor’s mom, Andrea Swift, being the one to choose who gets the “22” hat and said that was how she was chosen.

"Can confirm! Mama swift chose me," wrote the fan.

Is It Always Children Who Get Taylor Swift’s ‘22’ Hat?

While most of the time, it’s a younger Swiftie who gets the coveted “22” hat from Taylor, it’s not a hard and fast rule. The “Fortnight” songstress has occasionally chosen an avid fan who has a large social media following or someone she has a connection to in her personal life. Taylor has gifted the hat to her best friend Selena Gomez’s 9-year-old sister and Kobe Bryant’s daughter Bianka.

Taylor Swift Autographs ​Every ‘22’ Hat Given to Fans

The hat given to the fan during the adorable moment isn’t just a regular old fedora either . Each hat is signed by Taylor herself with a metallic sharpie, and they’re made by Mexican-American haute couture milliner Gladys Tamez . Gladys is located in Los Angeles, California, and it takes about “8-9 hours” to “mold [the hat] by hand,” according to USA Today .

"I've been like so, so humble and so grateful to do this because I've worked with her team for a long time and then to have this moment, I was so excited," Gladys told the outlet in April 2024. "There's not that many things in the world right now that are handmade. I want to keep it going."