Awk-ward. That was the general social media consensus following Taylor Swift accepting the Album of the Year Grammy from Celine Dion in the show’s final moments without acknowledging Dion and the significance of her being there to present the award. Cue a backstage social media post of Swift and Dion together, hugging, after the show to smooth things over.

Few amongst us have ever had to go up on a stage in front of millions of viewers to accept the biggest award in music, so it’s difficult to say what could be going through one’s mind at the time. It very well could have been an out-of-body experience for Swift and she was doing her best to process everything and gather her thoughts as she accepted the statue.

But Swift has been in that spotlight enough times before that many online — even many fans of hers — felt that she should have said something to acknowledge the fact that Celine Dion, struggling with a rare neurological disorder known as stiff person syndrome, was up on that stage at all and the specialness of the moment.

Entertainment Tonight posted to their X/Twitter account the picture of Celine Dion smiling to camera with her arm around Taylor Swift, who hugs Dion close, with the caption “Celine Dion and Taylor Swift backstage at the #GRAMMYs.”

The awkward on-stage Grammys moment between Taylor Swift and Celine Dion had a sweeter backstage response, though some still found fault.

Celine Dion and Taylor Swift backstage at the #GRAMMYs. pic.twitter.com/cCHxfgzJ89

— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) February 5, 2024

Fan reaction to the post was mixed. It clearly shows that things are all good between Swift and Dion and maybe social media made much adieu about nothing with the controversy, though some felt that the reaction post itself was a calculated PR move by Swift’s camp.

Among the most viewed responses to the post was one reading, “I am glad she understood quickly that ignoring the icon that is Celine was a bad move. I like Taylor, but having Celine wait there and ignoring her was not OK.”

Another said, “They made her clean that up real quick! PR crisis lol.”

“The publicist definitely said we have to clean this up now. Socials are already in shambles,” read another in that vein.

“Yeah where was that energy on stage?” asked a different commenter. “Miley was so in awe of Mariah and Taylor acted like Celine was there to check in her coat,” referencing how Miley Cyrus graciously gushed over her presenter, Mariah Carey, even while accepting her very first Grammy award for best pop solo performance.

“Taylor didn’t even LOOK at Celine when she took the award from her ,” read another response post. “That was the most disrespectful thing I’ve ever seen on the Grammy stage. Especially considering what it took for Celine to get onto that stage ”.

Still others on social media rushed to Taylor Swift’s defense to point out that Swift was up on her feet clapping for Dion when she walked out on stage and singing along to Dion’s entrance song. They also noted that the picture appears to have been taken by Entertainment Tonight backstage directly after Swift accepted the award, so the moment had to be genuine (because Swift wouldn’t have even had time to acknowledge the X/Twitter response to the perceived snub).