Strolling into stadiums before swigging from red solo cups with her A-list entourage and mother-in-law to-be Donna Kelce, Taylor Swift was once at risk of overshadowing her boyfriend's NFL games.

But it was a far more muted affair on Sunday, with the pop star shielded behind what is believed to have been a bullet-resistant screen as she was sneaked into the Arrowhead Stadium to watch Travis Kelce's Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles.

Video showed security guards quickly unfolding the giant protective barrier to ensure that Swift, 35, could slip into Arrowhead unseen.

The clip - coupled with the absence of any pictures of Swift cheering in her usual private stadium suite - sparked a frenzy of speculation. The loudest whisper: Was she hiding a pregnancy bump?

It is understood that even the Chiefs players were warned in advance that there would be heightened security at the game, but were offered no explanation why.

Now, insiders have told the Daily Mail the full story.

One insider pointed to increased tensions in the wake of Charlie Kirk's murder, just days before the game.  

'They used the screen to keep her safe,' the insider said. 'They have used that screen before, but usually it is for the President or someone like that, not a celebrity. But this was a weird week.'

Conservative activist Kirk, 31, was assassinated by a gunman last Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University.

Meanwhile, Swift is a known liberal who has backed the last two Democratic Party candidates, in the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections.

Kirk even spoke about Swift a fornight before his death, remarking on her recent engagement to tight end Kelce, 35. 

'This is something that I hope will make Taylor Swift more conservative,' he said, before adding that the singer should 'submit' to her future husband.

Kirk also controversially said the burly sporstman could 'de-radicalize' Swift from being 'a cat lady to a JD Vance supporter.'

For her part, Swift is said to have been left in shock at Kirk's very public assassination. And it is that trauma, coupled with her ongoing issues of stalking, that has meant those around her are not 'taking any chances' when it comes to safety.

'Taylor had concerns because she has received hate mail from the same kinds of extreme groups,' said another insider. 'Charlie's murder, and the weirdness with her stalkers, is why she will take serious measures to increase her security and only a core group of people know what her schedule is.

'She was targeted by far-right extremist groups after going against Trump [by endorsing Kamala Harris] and there are legitimate concerns about some of the threats that have been made. They aren't taking any chances.'

In August last year, Swift found herself the target of a foiled terror attack in Vienna, Austria, and was forced to cancel three of her 'Eras' world tour dates in the capital. She later said the incident filled her with a 'new sense of fear.'

It came days after three young girls were tragically knifed to death while at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, England.

Swift has also found herself the target of multiple male stalkers.

Most recently, she was granted a restraining order against Colorado man Jason Brain Wagner, who sent hundreds of emails and showed up at Swift's in Los Angeles multiple times.

Other stalkers have sickeningly threatened her with rape and murder over the years, with some even trying to break into her New York residence.

The incidents have understandably left Swift on high alert, with the singer previously revealing that she always carries QuikClot – army grade bandage dressing – 'for gunshot or stab wounds.'

'You get enough stalkers trying to break into your house and you kind of start prepping for bad things,' she said in 2019.

That fear of violence is shared by her 73-year-old father Scott Swift, who said he was so 'terrified' about his daughter's safety after throwing her support behind two Democratic candidates in her home state of Tennessee in late 2018, that he 'went out and bought armored cars.'

Swift endorsed Harris back in September last year, prompting Trump to hit back saying he 'was not a Taylor fan' and declaring 'she'll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace.'

The president later went so far as to say that he 'hates' her. 

With an increasingly divisive political landscape and with millions following her every move, Swift 'just wants to be safe', her friends say.

'She took these precautions because the world right now is totally screwed up and she not only wants to protect herself but everyone that she surrounds herself with,' another insider said of the bulletproof screen.

'To take these precautions now is nothing new, she always has security by her side, and she isn't going to start taking any chances now.'