NFL Defends Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce Coverage: 'It's A Pop Culture Moment'
By Kelly Coffey-Behrens on October 5, 2023 at 9:45 AM EDT
The NFL is defending its coverage of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce amid the backlash they have been receiving.
During "Sunday Night Football", NBC showed the "Bad Blood" singer a number of times, seemingly dismissing the fact that other big-name stars were in the same suite as her, including Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, and Hugh Jackman.
The channel also promoted Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" twice, and showed a commercial featuring Travis Kelce nearly five different times.
NFL Defends Their Coverage Of Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce
Now, the NFL is speaking out, defending the coverage of Swift and Kelce, calling it a "pop culture moment".
“We frequently change our bios and profile imagery based on what’s happening in and around our games, as well as culturally,” the NFL said in a statement to People. “The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news has been a pop cultural moment we’ve leaned into in real time, as it’s an intersection of sport and entertainment, and we’ve seen an incredible amount of positivity around the sport.”
The league then compared it to their "Toy Story"-themed coverage on Sunday morning. “The vast majority of our content has remained focused on the game, our players and variety of other initiatives, including our Toy Story Funday Football alt-cast, the international games and more," they said.
The statement comes after Travis Kelce spoke out about the attention he and Taylor Swift have been receiving. “I think everybody is just, like, overwhelmed,” he expressed.
Travis Kelce Says He Is ‘Enjoying The Madness’
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end posted to Instagram just moments after he said he felt the NFL should tone down the Taylor Swift coverage, seemingly once again addressing the drama.
“You gotta enjoy the madness,” Kelce wrote alongside a photo dump of himself from the Kansas City Chiefs vs New York Jets game Sunday night.
Although none of the photos in Kelce’s Instagram post showed the “Love Story” singer, it has been rumored that the two spent some time together in New York City the night before the game.
Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" To Go Worldwide
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has been turned into a concert film. It will be released to select movie theaters worldwide beginning in October 2023, which the “Love Story” singer coincidentally announced the day after she first appeared at the Kansas City Chiefs game last week.
When speaking on her record-breaking tour, Swift previously expressed gratitude towards her fans. “I’ve just never been this happy in my life in all aspects of my life ever,” she said. “And I just want to thank you for being a part of that. It’s not just a tour. I just sort of feel like my life finally feels like it makes sense. So, I thought I’d play this song, which brings me a lot of happy memories.”
The film, which will be a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes, is directed by Sam Wrench and will give fans the chance to see Taylor Swift up close during the show as if you were actually on stage with her
A source told The Blast exclusively that in the United States, adult tickets will cost $19.89, in reference to Taylor Swift’s upcoming release of the re-recorded version of her 2014 album “1989”. Children and seniors prices will be $13.13, which is a nod to the 33-year-old songwriter’s lucky number.
Tickets are currently available to buy at AMC Theatres and Fandango now.
