Will Taylor Swift make Travis Kelce woke?

Gitanjali Poonia
·4 min read
Taylor Swift attended the Kansas City Chiefs against the Chicago Bears with Travis Kelce’s mother, Donna Kelce, at lower left, on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023 in Kansas City, Mo.
Taylor Swift attended the Kansas City Chiefs against the Chicago Bears with Travis Kelce’s mother, Donna Kelce, at lower left, on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023 in Kansas City, Mo. | Reed Hoffmann, Associated Press
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The word among Swifites and NFL fans is that Taylor Swift, America’s sweetheart, is dating Travis Kelce, the handsome athlete. These rumors solidified after the pair was seen driving away from the stadium after Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs beat the Chicago Bears in a game Swift attended.

But this romance is under scrutiny from conservatives who wonder if Kelce is becoming “woke” following the player’s association with Swift and his appearance in a commercial for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines.

In the ad, Kelce learns that he can get his flu shot along with his COVID-19 booster. “Two things at once,” he says. He repeats the four-word tagline while the video turns into a montage of him multitasking — like mowing the lawn and barbecuing, and recording a radio show and floating in a hot air balloon.

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Kelce posted the video to his Instagram but turned off the comments.

Travis Kelce’s Pfizer ad draws criticism

Tomi Lahren, Fox News commentator, took to X, a platform formerly known as Twitter, and said, “Is this what happens when you date Taylor Swift?”

Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly and Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk also discussed the commercial in the latest episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show.”

“He has decided to use his fame and power to try to push the Pfizer COVID vaccine on us,” said Kelly.

Kirk questioned Kelce’s decision to peddle the vaccine, saying, “Travis Kelce is for sale evidently, and I wonder how much.”

Kelly said that while elderly folks have benefitted from the vaccine, they aren’t the ones following Kelce. His fans, instead, are “young men who look up to him” and are at a reduced risk of a severe infection from COVID-19, she said.

Travis Kelce’s Bud Light commercial

Kelly said Kelce was “obviously super woke,” adding, “he’s with Taylor, he endorsed Bud Light post controversy and he’s pushing the Pfizer vaccine.”

Kelly was referring to the 15-second ad Kelce appeared in for Bud Light, a beer brand that some conservatives have boycotted for months after its promotional partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender social media influencer.

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According to The Messenger, Swift became vocal about her political stances after former President Donald Trump took office. Since then, she has endorsed a Democratic candidate in Tennessee, her home state, spoken against gun violence and supported abortion rights.

What we know about Swift and Kelce’s relationship

Dating rumors about Swift and Kelce began swirling after the Chiefs tight end attended her Eras Tour concert over the summer. These whispers gained speed after CBS announcer Ian Eagle referenced a Swift song from the “1989” album when talking about Kelce, saying he found a “Blank Space” for the score.

A week ago, Kelce said on a podcast that he spoke to Swift and invited her to his game.

“I told her that I’ve seen her rock a stage in Arrowhead and she might have to come see me rock the stage at Arrowhead,” Kelce said, according to ESPN.

Fast forward, Swift is sitting beside Kelce’s mom and cheering him on from the box seats. Fans as well as Kelce’s teammates appeared mesmerized looking at the pop star.

Swifties embrace Travis Kelce

The Swifties flooded the footballer’s social media comments, calling him “Mr. Swift” and welcoming him into the fandom. They also tuned into the game on Sunday.

According to Variety, the Sept. 24 game drew in 24.32 million viewers, including the highest amount of women, slightly lower than last year’s record of $26.4 million viewers.

As for the merchandise, the sales for Kelce’s jersey spiked 400%.

Despite some of the criticism from the right, Swifties are willing to cheer on Kelce.

“I would say that Travis Kelce has had a lot of big catches in his career,” Bill Belichick, the head coach of the New England Patriots, said on a radio show. “This would be the biggest.”

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