Following a disappointing 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce and pop icon Taylor Swift have noticeably pulled back from the public eye. The couple, who had been heavily featured in headlines throughout the NFL season, have reportedly been advised by their inner circle to limit their exposure amid growing public scrutiny and online backlash.
Over the past two months, Kelce and Swift have taken several low-key vacations, both within the United States and abroad. Their public outings have been minimal, and they’ve largely avoided major events, red carpets, and social media spectacles.
Kanye West and Josh Berry keep the spotlight on Swift and Kelce
But despite their efforts to step away from the limelight, the public attention hasn’t exactly disappeared-it’s just taken on a different shape.
Recently, Swift became the target of controversial remarks from rapper Kanye West, who bizarrely blamed the pop superstar for allegedly preventing him from ever landing a coveted Super Bowl halftime show slot.
“I never was allowed to do the Super Bowl because of three moments,” West wrote in a now-deleted post. “George Bush don’t care about black people. The Taylor Swift movement moment. Wearing a MAGA hat.”
While Swift remained silent following West’s social media tirade, her legal team reportedly issued a cease and desist after West made false and defamatory personal claims during another outburst. That debacle alone kept Swift’s name trending for days-proof that even silence can’t keep her out of the public conversation.
Now, Kelce has also found himself in the crosshairs-though in a much subtler way. NASCAR driver Josh Berry, a Wood Brothers Racing driver who attended high school with Swift at Hendersonville High in Tennessee, took a veiled swipe at Kelce during a recent interview on the Rubbin’ Is Racing podcast.
Berry reflected on how often his old connection to Swift resurfaces in media conversations.
“It’s one of those things when you’re doing an interview one day and somebody’s like, ‘Hey, what’s a funny, crazy story about you?'” Berry said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, I went to school with Taylor Swift.’ You don’t think that’s that big of a deal. But good gosh, man. It never ends.”
The NASCAR driver went on to explain how Swift’s relationship with Kelce has reignited the public’s interest in his own tenuous connection to her.
“Then she starts dating Travis Kelce and it all comes back again. I’m like, ‘I don’t care about Travis Kelce. He has nothing to do with me.’ It just never ends,” Berry added.
