ESPN host Stephen A. Smith leapt to the defense of Taylor Swift after the pop star was accused of negatively impacting Kansas City Chiefs boyfriend Travis Kelce’s game.
The Anti-Hero hitmaker, 34, has attended several of the tight end’s games this season to great fanfare and attention with the broadcast often focusing on her in the stands.
But as the Chiefs have slumped in recent weeks, NFL fans have been left disgruntled by the attention the songstress was getting from the league and the media.
Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless even chimed in, claiming it was time to start calling Swift a distraction to Kelce and the reigning Super Bowl champions following their defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day.
Swift was also left unimpressed when Golden Globes host Jo Koy made an distasteful joke at her and Kelce’s expense Sunday night.
ESPN host Stephen A. Smith (left) leapt to the defense of Taylor Swift (right) amid criticism
The pop star was accused of negatively impacting Chiefs boyfriend Travis Kelce’s game
However, Bayless’s ESPN rival Smith hit back at Swift’s critics, insisting it wasn’t her fault the cameras were on her.
‘I have to take a moment to come to the defense of Taylor Swift,’ Smith said on Wednesday’s episode of First Take.
‘Everybody’s sitting up there and acting like she’s some kind of impediment and, excuse me, she did her job! That Eras Tour? Off the chain. Generated billions.
‘[…] She’s going to support her dude. To show up at a football game and the cameras are on her – that ain’t her fault!
‘And excuse me, by the way, she went to the games after the concerts. It’s not like she used the games to bump up the concerts. Oh no! Those kids were going to her concerts whether the NFL was promoting her or not!
‘Taylor Swift is that girl. Let’s show some respect. She probably is gonna have a positive on Travis Kelce’s performance, okay? I’m not trying to disrespect Taylor Swift.’
Bayless wasn’t the only one to point the finger at Swift as OutKick founder Clay Travis also chimed in.
Travis took to Twitter on Christmas Day, after the Chiefs loss, and wrote: ‘The Chiefs are not a good football team and Travis Kelce looks like he should retire.
Skip Bayless (left) and Clay Travis (right) have been the leading critics of Swift and Kelce
Bayless took to social media to question whether the pop star was a dsitraction to the games
‘He’s been worthless the last seven or eight weeks. The double worthless Pfizer shots may have caught up with him. Either that or Taylor Swift is the Chiefs Yoko Ono. Maybe both.’
But both claims were met with derision from NFL fans and Swift’s own supporters, given that the Chiefs clearly have issues on the field, rather than the stands, that clearly need addressing.
Despite the noise, the Chiefs clinched the AFC West division title and sealed their spot in the postseason.
Kelce and co. face the Miami Dolphins at Arrowhead Stadium in the Wild Card round on Saturday.