Sarah Paulson is a certified Swiftie. The Emmy winner, 48, attended one of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concerts at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium in August with actress Lupita Nyong’o and friends, and she tells PEOPLE that, not only did she have a blast, it was one of the few times recently when she was absolutely “starstruck.”

“The last time I was starstruck — this is how powerful she is — was [when] I went to a Taylor Swift concert and I didn’t even meet her,” Paulson says. “For me, it was like being in the room with God herself.”

Sarah Paulson.  LEON BENNETT/GETTY
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Although the actress admits she and her concert buddy Nyong’o, 40, didn’t go into the show as “full-blown Swifties,” after being within close proximity to the pop superstar, 33, they became entranced by “the power of Taylor Swift.”

The Golden Globe winner, who is returning to Broadway with the new play Appropriate, explains that her “wildest dreams” came true as soon as she arrived in the stadium full of 80,000 passionate fans and made it to her seat. She says, “We got to be on the floor, and someone from her team came out and handed Lupita and me a bag of merchandise. They said to me, “This is from Taylor.” I was like, ‘I think I’m going to faint.’”

“I actually have the bracelet that was attached to the merchandise, just simply because it said ‘Fearless’ on it ’cause that’s the section we were in,” she continues. “I just was like, ‘This is the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me.’”

“I didn’t take my bracelets off for two months. It was a real situation,” the American Horror Story star adds.

Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour in March 2023. JOHN SHEARER/GETTY
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For Paulson, her fandom all comes back to the Grammy winner’s talent as a songwriter. She says, “I get that people love her in a lot of different ways and for a lot of different reasons, but for me, her songwriting is just so spectacular. It’s just incredible. I can’t believe how many of her songs I love.”

The Impeachment: American Crime Story star is still reeling from the experience, even now months after the concert. “The most amazing thing that happened the other night when I was walking my dogs in Manhattan. Someone was singing “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift out loud — these two girls — and I started singing along with them on the street. They turned around, and they were like, ‘Oh, my God.’ I think they recognized me, and then … we just started singing it loudly.”

“It was just a very cool New York moment, but also kind of [speaks to] the communication of the power of Taylor Swift,” the performer continues. “I mean the power of her talent and her musical gift: that there were these two young girls singing on a bike in [the] middle of Manhattan. I could hear the lyrics, and I started singing along with them, and they turned. It was a very, really, really cool moment.”
After the show, Nyong’o posted to Instagram to share sweet photos and clips from her and Paulson’s night. The two posed with friends — including Zach Braff, Donald Faison and Darren Criss — in a couple adorable, smiling selfies and showed off their many friendship bracelets in another shot. The besties appeared to be having a great time in another photo, as one candid captured them while they were sharing a laugh.

“Thanks to all the Swifties for your suggestions — trading bracelets was super sweet 🍬,” the Oscar winner wrote in the caption.

The former costars were among the many celebrity guests on Swift’s acclaimed, career-spanning Eras Tour, which wrapped up its first North American leg in August. Some of the pop star’s famous pals like Blake Lively, Gigi Hadid, Selena Gomez stepped out, as well as more A-listers like Jennifer Garner, Alicia Keys, Brie Larson, Channing Tatum and Kerry Washington, among many others.