Taylor Swift defended after being accused of 'affecting' Travis Kelce's game

25 September 2024, 14:12 | Updated: 25 September 2024, 14:14

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have been together since 2023. Picture: Getty

By Tiasha Debray

Fans, Travis Kelce’s family and the likes of Whoopi Goldberg have all stood up to defend Taylor Swift from people blaming her for Travis’ ‘out of shape’ gameplay.

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Taylor Swift fans are out in full defence after comments suggesting she is to 'blame' for boyfriend Travis Kelce's apparent lacklustre performance have resurfaced online.

Travis recently came under fire by pundits, especially during the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Atlanta Falcons.

His athleticism this year has been directly compared to previous years and, for some reason, fans of the game seem to be speculating that Taylor is the reason for the apparent decline in his performance. (She's not, obviously!)

With the Eras Tour wrapping up at the end of 2024, Taylor’s been copping so much heat that fans, family friends and celebrities alike have had to speak in her defence.

Read more: Taylor Swift Manifested Boyfriend Travis Kelce In Decade-Old Interview
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Travis Kelce has received a lot of backlash for his performance on the field. Picture: Getty

Former ESPN analyst Todd McShay spoke about Travis' performance on The Ryen Russillo Podcast, saying: “Every show I watch, every pregame show, halftime show, postgame show, weekday show, every broadcast I watch for the last few weeks, it’s like, are we not allowed to say that he’s out of shape?”

“That he’s been partying all offseason? He’s been jet-setting around with the most famous person probably in the entire world,” the analyst mentioned on the podcast.

Fans immediately jumped in to defend Taylor from being included that narrative.

Whoopi Goldbery, Donna Kelce and fans online have jumped to Taylor and Travis' defence. Picture: Getty

Over on X/Twitter, one fan wrote: "Lemme remind y'all Taylor Swift distracted Travis Kelce all the way to a superbowl win last year. Keep her name out your mouth. We are 3-0."

Several people also called the comments misogynistic. Another fan wrote: "I think the main issue for us is the pundits claiming he's distracted - which is a direct misogynistic dig at Taylor and couldn't be further from how he's handled everything."

Someone else added: "the 'travis is distracted' talk is so f---ing misogynistic. he was wide open time and time again, he can't throw himself the ball. let's stop acting like he can't handle business bc he works harder than anyone and everybody on the chiefs will tell you that and HAVE."

Todd McShay accused Travis Kelce of being out of shape this season as opposed to 2022. Picture: Getty

Even the legendary Whoopi Goldberg decided to put in her two cents on The View where she publicly rebuffed fans for blaming Taylor when she said: “They apparently forgot that they won a Super Bowl last year with [Travis], and [he and Taylor] were just as tight then as they are now… Grow up, y’all. Stop putting this on her. Your team is fine, your team is doing well. Shut up.”

Not only did they win the Super Bowl, but Travis has played some of his best games with his supportive superstar girlfriend supporting him from the box, including 89 catches for 1,039 yards and five touchdowns.

Travis' mother Donna also chipped in to defend the situation, telling People: “You know, I don’t think they realise the pressure that people are under, whether they’re athletes or professionals that are in front of the camera. And it’s just very difficult, there’s a lot of things going on behind the scenes.”

“You don’t realise how many times people are trying to keep you from catching the ball, or trying to trip you up or hit you… so it’s kinda hard when you’ve got people that are in your face 24/7.”

Taylor and Travis were in a relationship when Travis won the Super Bowl with the Chiefs. Picture: Getty

Whilst Todd didn’t explicitly blame Taylor during his chat, he certainly alluded that Travis' newfound superstardom that came hand-in-hand with dating her was part of the reason behind his performance.

“I think Kelce’s doing more commercials and things, he’s been at more events, doing more things socially,” he explained. “It’s impossible to carry that schedule and still put in the same amount of time for football."