Cam Newton Discusses Controversy Over Taylor Swift And The NFL

Ever since Taylor Swift, 34, showed up at the Kansas City Chiefs game in September 2023 to support her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, 34, Swifties have been in a craze, and the two have become Hollywood's latest "It" couple.

However, unlike Taylor's posse, NFL fans quickly criticized the pop icon, the NFL, and the Chiefs for being a distraction from the game. It turns out she wasn't the problem after all, as the Kansas City Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl.

As the couple's popularity in the sports world fades, former quarterback Cam Newton finally weighed in on the backlash the NFL has received for showing Taylor Swift at the games.

Former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton told US Weekly that he doesn't necessarily have a problem with NFL’s frequent coverage of Taylor Swift.

“I think it was definitely something that was noticed, but I don’t know,” Newton told the outlet at Hollywood Unlocked’s 4th annual Impact Awards. “They got to paint the narrative for something.”

He added, “I think it just made more sense and garnered more fuel as their success kind of took off and that’s just how it goes. You can’t be mad. If you don’t like it, then try to stop Travis [Kelce].”

“She is who she is [and] he is who he is, and the game is what it is, too," the former NFL quarterback concluded.

Following the backlash both the NFL and TayTay received from sports fans, the "Red" singer spoke to TIME, where she admitted that she has no clue how the cameras find her -- so fans shouldn't blame her for the extensive amount of screen time.

“I don’t know how they know what suite I’m in. There’s a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don’t know where it is, and you have no idea when the camera is putting you in the broadcast, so I don’t know if I’m being shown 17 times or once,” she told the outlet in her 2023 Person of the Year profile. “I’m just there to support Travis. I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads and Chads.”

While many "Dads, Brads, and Chads" were pissed off, Travis Kelce said most of the fans went wild when they saw Taylor on the big screen.

“They went absolutely insane when they showed Taylor on the screen," he said on his and his brother's "New Heights" podcast. "Might have been a few Brads and Chads that were booing, but for the most part, everybody was f-cking screaming at Taylor.”

Taylor Swift has also received support from other celebrities, including sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith.

“I have to take a moment to come to the defense of Taylor Swift,” he said while appearing on "Mad Dog’s A-List" segment on ESPN at the time. “Everybody’s sitting up there and acting like she’s some kind of impediment.”

“Excuse me, she did her job! That Eras Tour? Off the chain," he added. "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!"

Analyst Elle Duncan also stood up for the pop icon on her podcast, "The Elle Duncan Show," when she said, "Do not blame Taylor Swift for being a 'distraction,' for Travis Kelce not playing well, for the Chiefs playing good…No, it is not her fault."

As Taylor continues to become a part of Travis's family, a source confirmed, "it really means everything to [Travis] how seamlessly Taylor blends in with all of them.” In fact, Travis, his brother Jason, and Jason's wife Kylie, all attended Taylor's recent Eras Tour show in London.

“Family is one of the most important things to him, so seeing Jason and his parents joke around with Taylor, he can just feel this sense of how well she meshes with all of them. It’s an amazing feeling," the source told US Weekly at the time.

The unnamed individual added that the pop icon is "super down to earth and gets along with everybody," the source stated. "His family is all about just hanging out, joking, and having a great time."

"It’s almost like she’s known his family forever, and he loves that about her," they added.