Michael Rubin has cleared up one of the biggest rumors surrounding his annual White Party. The Fanatics founder addressed speculation that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding forced him to change the date of the star-studded event.
Michael Rubin’s All-White Party Not Affected by Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce Wedding
Rubin spoke to PEOPLE ahead of this year’s White Party in the Hamptons. He denied that the celebration was rescheduled because of the high-profile couple’s rumored wedding.
“We were debating the dates. We were certainly aware of that date, but we didn’t change it because of that date,” Rubin said. “But we were aware of that date and we didn’t want to have people have to choose.
For some reason, this year’s White Party was held on Wednesday, July 1, rather than on Independence Day. However, Rubin made it clear that the event has rarely been held on the actual Fourth of July since it first began in 2021.
“People come to the White Party no matter when we do it… The White Party is going to be spectacular,” he said.
He clearly brushed aside any suggestion that his event and Swift and Kelce’s wedding were competing for celebrity guests.
“I’ll tell you one thing. I think the stars are going to be in New York from July 1 till July 19. New York’s never seen anything like this,” Rubin said.
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The 2024 White Party featured celebrities including Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Odell Beckham Jr., Joe Burrow, and Derek Jeter.
Rather than viewing Swift and Kelce’s wedding as competition, Rubin believes New York is set for one of its biggest months ever for sports and entertainment.
The White Party will apparently be followed by the Swift-Kelce wedding. Then comes the ESPY Awards, followed by Fanatics Fest and the FIFA World Cup final.
Fanatics Fest will be held at the Jacob Javits Center from July 16-19. Rubin said the event will coincide with the World Cup final.
“What’s going to make this year so special is it’s in the middle of the World Cup Final. You have the biggest stars in the world descending to Fanatics Fest… it’s just going to be absolutely spectacular,” Rubin said.
“We’ll have the two captains two days before they’re going to play in the biggest match of their lives,” he added. “If it’s a repeat of 2022, you’d have the coach and team captain. In that case, you’d have [Kylian] Mbappé and [Lionel] Messi at Fanatics Fest with tens of thousands of fans going crazy,” the Fanatics CEO added.
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The festival is expected to welcome stars including Tom Brady, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, John Cena, Rob Gronkowski, Cam Skattebo, and Jordan Chiles, while the NBA champion New York Knicks are also scheduled to attend following their title-winning season.
As for whether Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s rumored wedding changed the date of his White Party, Rubin’s answer was straightforward: it did not.
