After being noticeably absent from the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Taylor Swift [1] resurfaced in NYC on Wednesday afternoon. The singer, who is currently on hiatus [2], looked to be in good spirits as she made her way out of her Tribeca apartment with a big smile on her face. Taylor may have missed the show, but she certainly had a valid reason for it [3]. As it turns out, she was a few states away in Tennessee, serving jury duty in Nashville. Luckily, a few people who were summoned at the same time shared photos of themselves with the star [4] on social media.

That same day, Taylor made headlines after pal Jaime King took to Instagram to publicly thank the star [5] for making a donation for congenital heart defect research to LA's Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in honor of Jaime's son Leo, who also happens to be Taylor's godson. In a sweet note, Jaime explained the story [6] behind the grand gesture and wrote, "@taylorswift does so many selfless acts that go unnoticed because she does them silently, from such a great place of unconditional giving."