The 'GMA' anchor opens up to ET about the singer's 'romantic' new album, which came out Friday.
Robin Roberts is basking in the glow of Taylor Swift's Lover.
The Good Morning America anchor was giddy with excitement over the 29-year-old's seventh album release, calling the 18-track opus "so romantic" and "so Taylor" on the Disney Legends Awards red carpet at D23 on Friday in Anaheim, California. Roberts was one of several A-list names being given the prestigious Disney Legend honor, alongside Robert Downey Jr., Jon Favreau, Christina Aguilera, Diane Sawyer and Ming-Na Wen.
"I've known her since she was 14 years old. The first time I interviewed her, she was a songwriter. And 15 years later, to see what she has done, it's just amazing," Roberts marveled to ET's Ash Crossan, confessing that she is a self-proclaimed Swiftie.
But Roberts revealed that there is one particular track on Swift's latest album that connected with her on a deeper level because of the cancer battle she went through and has publicly spoken about: "Soon You'll Get Better," which features country trio Dixie Chicks. The song is about the Swift's relationship with her mother, Andrea, who was diagnosed in 2015 with breast cancer.
"It's [about] her mother, who has gone through similar struggles to what I have gone through," Roberts said. "[Taylor's] father alerted me to it before the album dropped and said, 'You are going to want to hear this track.' And I did and it's absolutely beautiful."
Roberts reflected on her decades-spanning career, specifically calling out 2005, when she was named co-anchor of GMA alongside Sawyer and Charlie Gibson and covered Hurricane Katrina, as a career-defining moment.
"It was when I went on the air, I cried, because it was my home that was devastated along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I thought I was going to get fired," she recalled. "This was 2005. No one showed emotion on the air as an anchor. And the way people responded and told me I can be authentic, I really appreciated that. It really helped me with my storytelling and the authenticity... I think being vulnerable and showing people that, that truly was a defining moment for me."
Later, when Roberts came onstage to accept her Disney Legend honor, the 58-year-old newscaster opened up about her deep affinity for Disney.
"I always had this connection with Disney. My longtime partner, sweet Amber, she actually worked here at Disneyland. She was in the parade department. What were you, honey? You were a snowman in the Christmas parade?" Roberts said, sharing that her family, including her brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and her brother's great-grandchildren, were all in the audience to celebrate the moment.
"I know, right? Black don't crack!" she quipped to laughter.
John Boone contributed to this story.
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