Travis Kelce Defends Taylor Swift’s Fans After Brother Jason Blames Them for Skewing Podcast Vote
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JANUARY 28: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates with his brother Jason Kelce after a 17-10 victory against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 28, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Jason Kelce is accusing Swifties of skewing the outcome of a recent NFL-related vote held through the podcast he cohosts with his brother Travis—but the Kansas City Chiefs tight end isn’t buying Jason’s argument.
The brothers’ debate, which Travis laughed through, centered around a Best NFL Team Name bracket created for fun by the Kelce brothers’ podcast, New Heights. Fans of the podcast have been invited to vote for their favorite NFL team name over the last several weeks, with the final two teams now poised for a final fan vote.
The brothers discussed the bracket—and what Travis has described as Jason’s attempts to influence its outcome on social media—during the Thursday, Feb. 8 episode of their podcast.
Over the last few weeks, Jason has urged fans of other teams to weigh in on the New Heights votes, often using the hashtags associated with team nicknames in posts on X (formerly Twitter). While Jason insisted that he was only using “old-school political campaign tactics” to boost “voter turnout,” Travis accused his brother of deliberately swaying the vote by tapping into specific fandoms.
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Meanwhile, Jason has accused fans of Travis’ girlfriend, pop star Taylor Swift, of using their votes to push Travis and his team forward in the bracket. The Philadelphia Eagles center also accused Swifties of voting against him when he demonstrated support for other teams.
“The Swifties have this unrealistic infatuation with the Chiefs and Travis Kelce,” Jason said. “They’re only voting based on their love for you, not on their love for the team name. So it wasn’t a realistic representation of what team name is better.”
Travis pushed back, telling his brother it was “ridiculous that you’re just throwing everything on the Swifties.”
The final bracket shows the Pittsburgh Steelers facing off against the Minnesota Vikings. Both brothers agreed they think Pittsburgh’s team name is the best in the NFL.
Jason, whose Eagles lost to the Vikings, suggested that the Swifties were to blame for his team not advancing to the final round of voting. Jason said Swift’s fans “don’t understand how politics works” and “got very upset” when he urged support for the Buffalo Bills, the team that ultimately prevented the Chiefs from advancing. He alleged that the Swifties “didn’t vote with their heads and their hearts throughout the whole competition.”
“So they got really accusational of me manipulating the votes,” he explained to Travis, who couldn’t help but laugh.
“So they manipulated some votes?” Travis joked.
Jason agreed, saying, “They voted against me.”
“Sounds like they knew exactly what they were doing,” Travis said.
The brothers’ discussion came as part of their final episode before Super Bowl LVIII, which takes place on Sunday, Feb. 11. Travis will be playing as the Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers, and Jason will be at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas cheering on his brother. This marks the fourth time in the last five years that the Chiefs have made it to a Super Bowl.
Next: Jason and Travis Kelce Beg Swifties for a Major Favor in Latest Edition of 'New Heights'
