However, The Hollywood Reporter noted that both Maximum Effort and State Farm stressed that the purpose of Jake and Donna’s interaction was not to make fun of Taylor but rather to lean into the buzz around her appearance at the Chiefs game. In fact, the outlet shared that Ryan—who along with wife Blake Lively is friends with Taylor—gave the Grammy winner’s camp a heads-up about the initiative.
“Once we had a good degree of confidence that everyone got the joke, and that there would be no issue,” George Dewey, Ryan’s Maximum Effort cofounder, told THR, “We were all very happy to proceed.”
Added Alyson, “[We were] confident that Taylor was aware, not upset, thought it was funny.”
