Travis Kelce may have already been a star NFL athlete before dating Taylor Swift, but his romance with the “Bad Blood” singer undeniably shot his fame through the roof.
Of course, with more attention comes more scrutiny, and not everyone is a fan of Kelce’s, despite his usually jovial attitude.
When things were heating up between Kelce and Swift, Mark Cuban stated on ESPN’s “First Take” that the pop star should end things with the tight end.
“I’ve got a bunch of good-looking single guys that play for the Dallas Mavericks. I got you,” Cuban shared. While he may have been joking, others have made their dislike of Kelce clearly known.
Kelce didn’t help his image when he famously shoved his coach Andy Reid during a 2024 Super Bowl meltdown.
Former quarterback Brett Favre stated on “Fearless with Jason Whitlock” that Kelce got too emotional, adding, “It just was the biggest stage in the football world and he does that to arguably, maybe the greatest coach in history.
You just can’t do that.” That wasn’t the only time Kelce has been criticized by a celeb, and despite his growing popularity, there are quite a few famous faces who have their reasons for not liking the NFL star.
Joy Behar called out Travis Kelce’s old tweets
While fans were laughing over Travis Kelce’s old “squirle” tweet, some internet sleuths discovered more unwholesome, misogynistic tweets shared by the football player when he was in his early 20s. As reported by the Daily Beast, one of the since-deleted posts read, “As a man, You have something wrong with you if your [sic] going for girls that weigh more then [sic] you!!” In another problematic tweet, Kelce wrote, “I feel like if u wanna be a cheerleader you have to pass a beauty test…. there’s too many ugly cheerleaders out here smh.” Yet in another 2010 tweet, Kelce compared L.A. Clippers cheerleaders to the Lakers’ team, saying that the former were “all ugly.
Joy Behar slammed Kelce on an episode of “The View” and declared, “He’s illiterate.” She then stated “I’m a Swiftie and I love her because she’s getting young people out to vote. So I don’t want her to be stuck with this idiot.” Behar’s co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin pointed out that those around Kelce’s age documented everything on social media during that time and that she hopes he’s changed since then. One thing’s for sure — Kelce better treat Taylor Swift well or she’ll soon be writing breakup songs about him.
Jack Jones clapped back at Tavis Kelce’s claims that the Chiefs handed over the game to the Raiders
December 25, 2023, was not a good day for the Kansas City Chiefs after they lost to the Las Vegas Raiders, 20-14. During Travis Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast with his brother Jason Kelce following the game, the athlete tried to make light of it and stated, “We handed that team a win on Christmas. We literally played Santa and gave ’em a present.” Travis said the loss was embarrassing, possibly because Taylor Swift was watching from the VIP suite with her family.
As captured by RaidingTheKingdom, Raiders cornerback Jack Jones wasn’t too happy hearing that comment. After learning about Travis downplaying the Raiders’ win, Jones shot back with, “He said they gave us that game? Tell him to go watch that game. We took that game. Yeah, we own that.” A user on X, formerly known as Twitter, replied, “This clearly shows that the Chiefs knew how to handle winning but obviously cannot handle losing in a dignified manner. How about taking the blame and trying to figure out to right your problems instead of demeaning your opponent or an official. Like the off side penalty loss.” Looks like Travis lost a fan or two.
Aaron Rodgers made fun of Travis Kelce’s vax ad
During an October 2023 episode of “The Pat McAfee Show,” Aaron Rodgers joined in to talk about the Jets vs. Chiefs game and stated, “There’s some sentiment that there’s some sort of moral victory out there that we hung with the champs and that you know, our defense played well. Pat didn’t have a crazy game and Mr. Pfizer, we kind of shut him down, he didn’t have a crazy impact on the game.” When the “Mr. Pfizer” comment was dropped, Pat McAfee couldn’t contain his laughter, seemingly poking fun at Travis Kelce’s appearance in a Pfizer commercial promoting the COVID-19 vaccine.
When asked about Rodgers’ dig by a reporter, Kelce answered good-naturedly, “I thought it was good. I mean, with the stache, I look like a guy named Mr. Pfizer. Who knew I’d get into the vax wars with Aaron Rodgers man.” He added, “Mr. Pfizer vs. the Johnson & Johnson family over there,” referring to the heir of the pharmaceutical company owning the Jets.
While Kelce didn’t take the dig to heart, the quarterback shot back on another episode of “The Pat McAfee Show” with, “Mr. Pfizer said he didn’t think he’d be in a vax war with me … this ain’t a war homie, this is just a conversation.” Rodgers, who has faced controversy surrounding the vaccine, then challenged Kelce to come on the show and duke it out with him, “John Wick: Chapter 4” style. “That’d be big ratings right there,” Rodgers added.
Bethenny Frankel thinks Travis Kelce is a peacock
A lot of celebs have opinions on Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s relationship, including former “Real Housewives of New York City” star Bethenny Frankel. In an Instagram video, she told viewers that she saw the tight end on television in Kansas City after the 2024 Super Bowl singing a song on stage at the parade. “He loves to be the center of attention and the life of the party,” she added, comparing him to a man she once dated with a similar personality. While he was charismatic, Frankel shared that she found him to be draining. She went on to say, “It’s all fun and games now but when you get into real life and you get into kids and marriage … it’s not easy.” Frankel stated that both Travis and Swift were “peacocks” — a term for someone who seeks attention — and that ultimately they’ll clash. “There usually can only be one [peacock],” she revealed.
While Travis has yet to reply, his father Ed Kelce called Frankel a troll, to which she replied on her podcast, “Just B with Bethenny Frankel,” that while she gave him props for sticking up for his son, she wished he wouldn’t have been so quick to insult her. “I was saying usually there’s only one peacock in a relationship, and I dated a guy like that [who] was very over the top and very loud and gregarious and like needed to be the center of attention,” adding, “Sorry, not sorry.”
Quinn Meinerz slammed the Chiefs for their Snow Globe huddle
Denver Broncos player Quinn Meinerz’s beef is more with the whole Kansas City Chiefs team. During a Chiefs vs. Las Vegas Raiders match in January 2023, the Kansas City team huddled up and spun around in a circle right before a play. After doing a 360, the players got into their places in perfect sync. The Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes later shared that the particular play was called “Snow Globe” and that the team had practiced it around Christmas. Coach Andy Reid approved the fun play, but Meinerz did not like it.
After expressing his team wanting to beat the Chiefs, Meinerz shared with sports reporter Brandon Krisztal, “The fact that they did that little Ring Around The Rosie play against the Raiders like genuinely pissed me off and I’m just excited for that day, and for that moment, and that’s one of the things that I’m preparing for going into next year is to be ready to beat them.” In a clip of Travis and Jason Kelce’s podcast “New Heights,” shared by broadcaster Chase Snyder, the two brothers acknowledged Menierz’s comment. “It’s kind of a f**k you play. It is,” Travis admitted. “But every play is a f**k you play,” he added cheekily.
Von Miller called Travis Kelce a fake Gronk
Von Miller and Travis Kelce’s beef goes way back to 2014. Per Larry Brown Sports, during a Chiefs vs. Broncos game, Miller was called out by the ref for a penalty. Kelce made a lewd gesture that was seemingly toward the referee but he later tweeted, then deleted, “My gesture on the TV tonight wasn’t toward the ref… [Von Miller] had a [cheap] shot on my QB, so I thought he deserved a shot to the face.” He then tweeted, “Sorry for that last tweet… I felt as if I had to clarify my doing, forgot I couldn’t express myself on here.”
A year later, after the Broncos beat the Chiefs, Miller tweeted to Kelce, “fake Gronk heads$$,” seemingly referring to the tight end being compared to famed tight end Rob Gronkowski. Kelce let the comment roll off his back and told NESN that he was puzzled by it and added, “If I’m a fake Gronk, that means I’ve got to be a real something, so I guess I’m a real Kelce at the end of the day.” It looks like things are all good between Miller and Kelce now after the linebacker apologized on “The Voncast” sometime later. “I’m here to say I was wrong. Travis Kelce is in his own lane. He’s obviously a Hall of Famer. Him and Patrick Mahomes have a connection that has never been seen before here in the league,” Miller stated. At least one of Kelce’s beef is squashed — for now.
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