Travis Kelce Reveals What He Thought of the 'Punk'd' Prank That Left Taylor Swift 'Traumatized'
L: Taylor Swift, R: Travis Kelce
Taylor Swift may have once secured her title as the princess of pranks, but the tables were turned when the "Karma" songstress found herself stuck in the middle of a "traumatic" episode of Punk'd.
Andrew Santino, who took part in the trick, joined Travis Kelce and his brother Jason on this week's episode of their podcast New Heights, where Swift's beau offered up his genuine reaction to seeing the episode of the popular MTV series, which he saw way back in the day as a regular viewer—and, while some assumed the Eras Tour superstar was in on the whole thing, the tight end says he totally "bought it,” at least at the time.
Now that he knows her personally, he plans to go back and watch it again to "see if she was trying to sell it or not," but Santino's certain that she fell hook, line and sinker thanks to the "chaotic" nature of the prank, which involved a boat engulfed in flames.
While Santino acknowledged that "some of the bits were so wild they didn’t work," the one he wrote for Swift "was specifically great because there were so many pieces that came together" to form "the perfect bit."
Kelce burst into laughter as Santino recounted the event, pledging "to ask Tay about that,” and we can't wait to hear what she thinks of the whole thing over a decade later.
Around that time, Swift told CMT Insider, per MTV, that she was "absolutely traumatized and terrified" by the ordeal, but ruled out revenge on Justin Bieber—who was in on the whole thing. "...he'd figure it out, then turn the tables on me and then it would be Justin: two, Taylor: zero," she predicted.
If you haven't seen it before, the episode involves Bieber inviting Swift over to see his new recording space. The "Baby" singer," who had just returned from a trip to Japan, pretended to have brought fireworks home with him and tried to get her to set some of them off, but Swift wasn't sure it was the best idea.
As a backup plan, producers set up a panel to trigger them. After Swift was encouraged to press one of the buttons it set off an explosive on a rig line that hurled it out toward a boat on the water.
Swift, who was about 22 at the time, watched in horror as the boat—hosting a fake wedding party with Santino as the groom—burst into flames. Swift began to panic while a nosy neighbor hyped up the nervous energy and the people on the boat headed to shore in a dinghy.
She became incredibly pragmatic after the bride and groom made it up to their deck, calling for someone to call the police and tell them people were still in the water while searching for a number for the Coast Guard herself. Then, as the bride began to panic, wondering if it was a sign that she should call the wedding off, Swift tried to assure the groom that she was just in shock and needed some time to process.
Unfortunately, the groom angrily shouted, "Thanks Taylor Swift...for ruining the best day of my life," and the young singer broke down in tears before the camera crew ran out to reveal it was all a clever orchestration, which seemed to strike her with simultaneous indignation and relief.
Next: Taylor Swift’s Elementary School Teachers Remember Singer’s ‘Special Quality’ as a Child
