Taylor Swift Reveals Napoleon Dynamite Inside Joke
Swift shared the decades-old bit with best friend Abigail Anderson Berard at a New York City screening of Toy Story 5.
Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Country
Taylor Swift disclosed that she and childhood best friend Abigail Anderson Berard have spoken to each other in Napoleon Dynamite voices for more than two decades. Swift shared the story at a Nov. 1 New York City screening of Toy Story 5, where her song "I Knew It, I Knew You" appears.
Why it matters
The anecdote offers a personal look at the friendship that inspired Swift's 2008 song "Fifteen" and connects it to the new Toy Story 5 original song. It also marks "I Knew It, I Knew You" as Swift's 15th No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"I Knew It, I Knew You" is Swift's 15th No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The stub does not provide streaming, sales, or box office figures for the Toy Story 5 release.
The players
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is a Grammy-winning American singer-songwriter known for her country-to-pop career and frequent songwriting about personal relationships.
Abigail Anderson Berard
Abigail Anderson Berard is Taylor Swift's longtime best friend, whom Swift met as a freshman at Hendersonville High School and who appeared in the documentary Miss Americana.
Andrew Stanton
Andrew Stanton is a Pixar filmmaker who co-directed and co-wrote Toy Story 5 and is known for earlier Pixar films including Finding Nemo and WALL-E.
The details
At the screening, Swift mimicked the Napoleon Dynamite voice when describing the friends' joke, then compared the film's characters Bonnie and Blaze to her own bond with Anderson Berard. The screening was followed by a Q&A and reception with co-director and screenwriter Andrew Stanton.
Timeline
2008: Swift released "Fifteen," which wrote about her friendship with Anderson Berard.
2020: Anderson Berard appeared in Swift's Netflix documentary Miss Americana.
2022: Anderson Berard married Charles Berard.
2024: Anderson Berard announced her pregnancy using lyrics from "But Daddy I Love Him."
Nov. 1: Swift shared the inside joke at the Toy Story 5 screening in New York City.
Industry Dynamics
The reveal reflects how Swift's catalog has repeatedly mined her personal relationships for songs, a pattern that now extends into film soundtracks. Her 15th Hot 100 No. 1 for an animated-film song places her among the chart's most consistent crossover performers in the Toy Story franchise's soundtrack history.
Toy Story 5 features "I Knew It, I Knew You" in its soundtrack, giving listeners a way to hear the song in the film. The stub does not specify streaming platforms or release timing for the track beyond the film screening.
The takeaway
A long-running personal joke can become a lasting source of material for an artist's work. Swift's 15th Hot 100 No. 1 shows how her friendships continue to shape her music.
Further reading
Explore more Country music coverage for the broader context of artists like Taylor Swift.
