It Looks Like Taylor Swift Missed the VMAs Because of Conveniently Timed Jury Duty (UPDATE)

UPDATED 2:50 p.m. ET: Well, that was fast. It looks like Taylor Swift is already done with jury duty. According to TMZ, the singer was dismissed from serving as a prospective juror in an aggravated rape and kidnapping case because she told the judge she has a pending civil case that also involves sexual assault. If you remember, Taylor filed a lawsuit back in the fall of 2015 against a DJ who allegedly groped her backstage during a concert. The ongoing case means Taylor would be biased in deliberation and so was dismissed by the judge.

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It looks like Taylor Swift might have had a very legitimate reason to miss MTV's Video Music Awards Sunday night, and it wasn't just because Kanye West was granted free rein on the event's major stage.

It turns out Taylor was back in Tennessee performing jury duty, because even celebrities have to show up when they get summoned for the often times dreaded task. Of course, the whole thing does seem pretty conveniently timed considering the VMAs went down in New York City's Madison Square Garden Sunday night where her less than favorite people, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West were set to be. It's the same event where Taylor and Kanye famously made up back in 2015 after she presented him with the Video Vanguard Award.

For his part, Kanye did not shy away from the topic of FamousGate while delivering another epic monolog during his four minutes of uninterrupted VMA time. "People come up to me like, 'Man, that's right, take Taylor down,'— Bro, I love all of y'all. That's why I called her."