Not only has Tony Hinchcliffe received backlash for his racist remarks at Donald Trump’s recent Madison Square Garden rally, but now he’s also facing the wrath of Taylor Swift fans for his comments about her boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
On Sunday (October 27), the Republican presidential nominee held a rally in New York City, where the controversial comedian delivered a series of offensive jokes targeting Puerto Rico, Latinos, and Black people.
“I don’t know if you guys know this, but there is literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now,” Hinchcliffe told Trump’s supporters. “Yeah, I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
In addition to his racist Puerto Rico joke, Hinchcliffe also made a derogatory remark about the 14-time Grammy winner and her NFL star boyfriend. “I don’t know about you, but I think that Travis Kelce might be the next OJ Simpson,” he said on stage.
NFL star Simpson was, of course, charged with the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman after they were found stabbed to death outside her Los Angeles home in 1994. He was ultimately found not guilty in a trial watched by around 100 million people worldwide, dubbed “the trial of the century.”
Simpson was deemed liable for the deaths in 1996 in a civil case brought by the two victims’ families, and was ordered to pay $33.5m in punitive and compensatory damages.
Swifties, the nickname for devoted fans of Swift, were immediately outraged by Hinchcliffe’s comparison between Simpson and the Kansas City Chiefs star.
“Did you catch the reference to Travis Kelce during Tony Hinchcliffe’s ‘comedy’ routine? Implying that Travis Kelce would become the next OJ Simpson and harm Taylor Swift? How utterly offensive,” one person wrote on X/Twitter.
“This is literally so nonsensical, like there’s absolutely no comparison between Travis and OJ except that they’re both famous football players,” another fan said. “Literally the only intended joke is the hypothetical idea of Travis doing the same thing.”
“The OJ reference is in really poor taste. The guy brutally murdered his wife and her friend,” a third person claimed. “To imply that Travis Kelce could become like that is just sick. Not funny.”
“I don’t get the Swifties for Trump people, like they are so weird even more so after recent comments,” wrote someone else. “Why would you support that man or his campaign especially after them ‘joking’ about Travis being the next OJ Simpson. The fact they still support him after that comment is so vile to me!”
Hinchcliffe has since doubled down on his controversial jokes made at Trump’s MSG rally. When Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz branded the comedian a “jackwad” for his remarks about Puerto Rico, Hinchcliffe hit back in a post shared to X/Twitter.
“These people have no sense of humor. Wild that a vice presidential candidate would take time out of his ‘busy schedule’ to analyze a joke taken out of context to make it seem racist,” the Kill Tony podcast co-host wrote on Sunday.
“I love Puerto Rico and vacation there. I made fun of everyone… watch the whole set. I’m a comedian Tim… might be time to change your tampon.”
Hinchcliffe’s comments also caught the attention of Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, who immediately endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris by sharing a campaign video with his 45 million Instagram followers. Jennifer Lopez also took the opportunity to share her support for Harris by reposting the video with emojis of the Puerto Rican flag and a ballot box, signaling she had voted for the Democratic presidential nominee.
Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin shared the clip of Hinchcliffe’s offensive joke on Instagram and said: “This is what they think of us. Vote for @kamalaharris.”
Trump’s re-election campaign has since attempted to distance itself from Hinchcliffe’s comments on Puerto Rico. In a statement, senior Trump adviser Danielle Alvarez claimed the joke “does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”
