Travis Kelce has defended his girlfriend Taylor Swift from the onslaught of boos she received at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
In a new episode of his New Heights podcast, the 34-year-old Kansas City Chiefs tight end addressed how New England Patriots fans reacted to the pop star’s presence at the game on 17 December.
“I’ll say this - they showed Taylor at the game,” the NFL champion recalled. “And I mean, you don’t see an entire home team fan base go insane for somebody wearing the opposite team’s colours. Just shows you how amazing that girl is. They went absolutely insane when they showed Taylor on the screen, yes.”
But he noted that Patriots fans were less than excited at seeing the “Cruel Summer” singer on the big screen due to team loyalty, rather than personal feelings against her.
“There might have been a few Brads and Chads that were booing but, for the most part, everybody was f***ing screaming their tail off for her,” he commented, a nod to Swift’s recent Time Magazine interview where she candidly remarked: “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much [at NFL games] and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads.”
“I was trying to keep it cool,” Kelce continued. “I was like, ‘Don’t show your cards, don’t show your cards.’ It was fun, man. Taylor’s on record saying that stadium’s one of the funnest that she played at, so for them to show her is kind of just showing her some love, so shoutout to the Patriots for doing that.”
Throughout the podcast episode, Kelce’s co-host, his brother Jason Kelce, brought up the fact that Scott Swift - the Grammy winner’s father and self-professed longtime Philadelphia Eagles fan - donned a vintage black and red Chiefs sweatshirt at the game to show his support for Travis. The NFL tight end commented: “It’s kinda looking real nice on him, man. It’s a swaggy vintage joint.”
The constant coverage of Swift at Kelce’s games is nothing new, ever since she made her first appearance at Arrowhead Stadium on 24 September. This time, the pop star attended the game with her father, Scott, and her close friend, fellow musician Alana Haim. They watched the game together from a private suite and at one point, the jumbotron screen zeroed in on Swift - who sported a Chiefs sweatshirt and beanie hat with her boyfriend’s jersey number 87 - to the dismay of Patriots fans.
“Massive boos from Gillette as Taylor Swift comes on the jumbo, America is waking up,” one user (@DonnieMexico17), wrote in a viral post circulating on X, formerly known as Twitter. The video has since been viewed over 4.5m times.
In the video, the “Anti-Hero” singer can be seen sitting between her father and Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Chiefs quarterback Austin Mahomes, while a chyron read: “Gillette Stadium is the most joyful place on Earth.”
Although boos could be heard all across the stadium, the pop star seemingly brushed off the reaction by resting her chin on the palm of her hand. She then blew a kiss to her haters and turned to shrug to Mahomes beside her.
