Hank Azaria wasn’t too happy that Taylor Swift got courtside seats at Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
During a recent appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, The Simpsons actor said that “it was crazy in there celebritywise” at the Wednesday night match between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. However, you “only see the A+ list down at the bottom.”
“I’ll tell you the one that bothered me was Taylor Swift,” Azaria admitted. “I know she’s the hugest thing in the world, but we had to sit with her all through the NFL (as the Grammy winner is engaged to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce) and now she’s at the Garden. Come on.”
“It’s not that I question why she’d get the seat. I’m just tired of the whole Taylor sports…” he continued before adding that it’s “ridiculous” that she got three courtside seats as Alana and Este Haim were also with Swift.
Azaria, a longtime Knicks fan, went on to explain the challenging process for how celebrities score complimentary tickets to games at Madison Square Garden.
“You don’t know from the Garden if you’re going to get in until that day,” he said. “If you’re Ben Stiller or Tracy Morgan, you know. I think Spike [Lee] actually pays for his tickets. So they don’t let you know until day-of because there’s such high demand.”
After not making the cut for complimentary tickets to Game 3, The Idol actor said he was able to get in for free to Game 4. However, Azaria thought it was “horrible” that his seats were in the arena’s Cisco Suites, located within the upper bowl.
“I know I’m not courtside, but I think they’ve [MSG] got me good seats. But we’re way up in what they call the Cisco Suites, which are like the ceiling,” he recalled, noting that other stars such as Quest Love, Rain Wilson, Ed Burns, Jeremy Strong, Aaron Judge and Christy Turlington were also in the same area. “Like there’s so many folks who want in that they’ve stuck us all up in the rafters.”
“Celebrities are scattered throughout the entire garden,” Azaria added. “You only see the A+ list down at the bottom. Everybody else is like stuck wherever.”
Despite not receiving his ideal seats for the game, the actor said he was “just happy to be in there” overall.
The Knicks ultimately won Game 4, 107 to 106, following a 29-point comeback in the second half. Then on Saturday, during Game 5, they won their first NBA championship in 53 years after beating the Spurs 94 to 90.
