Really? You’re going to make me side with the Swifties?
Of course the biggest story in pop culture over the past 24 hours (and really the past few days) has been Taylor Swift appearing on New Heights, the podcast hosted by her boyfriend and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce along with his brother, retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
Leading up to the show’s release, the podcast shared a clip announcing Taylor’s upcoming album, The Life Of A Showgirl, and last night there were 1.3 MILLION people tuned into the premiere on YouTube. Just insane streaming numbers.
Swifties were obviously big fans of the episode and the love that Kelce and Swift clearly showed for each other. The couple looked like they were each other’s biggest fans, and seem to be genuinely supportive of and invested in the other’s career and success. Even as somebody who’s not a Swiftie at all, it was pretty nice to watch.
During the episode, Taylor unveiled quite a few new details about her upcoming album, including the release date, the tracklist, and her thought process behind the album – even revealing that it was recorded in Sweden on her days off while she was traveling for the Eras Tour.
Ahead of the episode, Taylor joked that the male sports fans who usually tuned into the audience may not be excited to see more of her on their screens. But apparently, at least one supporter of Taylor wasn’t happy to see her on the podcast either.
Canadian actress and comedian Emma Hunter (go ahead and Google her if you have to) appeared on daytime talk show The Social, which is apparently like the Canadian version of The View if that tells you anything about how this is going, and was upset that Taylor decided to unveil her new album on her boyfriend’s podcast. Apparently, at least according to Hunter, choosing to do it on Kelce’s podcast was somehow stealing her spotlight:
“I live in fear of the moment the boyfriend starts to step into the light of the main character of the show. Taylor Swift has built this entire thing by herself since so small. And all of a sudden we are announcing the 12th album and she does it on the boyfriend’s podcast and I just get this fear of the husband or the boyfriend being like, ‘Hey, I’m just in the frame here. I’m part of this. And I just, I want her to be on her path with her journey.’
He can throw his little ball or, you know, do whatever he does. I don’t want him in her light. So that was the only thing where I was like, this is great. Oh, but why this way?”
@thesocialctv Are you ready for another Taylor Swift era?! We are… but we have mixed feelings! Swift revealed the title of her upcoming 12th studio album – ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ – in a teaser for Travis and Jason Kelce’s ‘New Heights’ podcast 🫢😯😶 Actor and comedian Emma Hunter shares her thoughts. What’s your take on this? Are you ready for a new album?! Do you care that she announced it on her boyfriend’s podcast? #TheSocialCTV
What an absolutely insane take. First of all, this entire rant came before the podcast was even released, so she didn’t even wait to see the whole thing before casting judgment. But if she had waited to see the full episode before giving her opinion on it, she would have seen that Travis took every opportunity to take the attention off of him and put it on her and her new album. And it’s not like Travis is a nobody and she was throwing him a bone: The podcast is popular on its own, and Travis Kelce is a massive celebrity in his own right. I don’t think he was using her to boost his own profile here…
And surprisingly, Swifties didn’t agree with Hunter at all.
I say “surprisingly” because Swifties are obviously overprotective of anything Taylor does, and always want to make sure that she gets the spotlight. But in this case, they were quick to criticize Hunter for not understanding the dynamic between Taylor and Travis:
“Orrrr perhaps she’s finally found someone who supports her and lets her shine, and so she actually wants to share her light with that person.”
“I think that’s a terrible take. She is finally with a man who is comfortable with her having ALL the limelight and he loves her so much and she knows it so she joins his podcast with his brother who is also so incredibly supportive of her. She’s being welcomed into a family who wants nothing from her. For the first time she is with a guy who is is genuinely proud to show her off and prop her even further up! That’s love. That’s not fake and not him trying to get in on the action. Stop being so cynical”
“Ummmm…she announced it on a #1 podcast that “the boyfriend” created and built into a huge brand. He’a also on of the most successful, well known football tight ends in history. Just because you don’t understand his world, doesn’t make him a back ground character. Maybe stop talking?”
“We hate when boyfriends aren’t supportive and we hate when they are…”
“I have never ever disagreed with something more”
“He is his own main character, that’s why it works”
“She decided this. He didn’t step in. She let him in.”
“Or they are a mutually respectful couple who share and celebrate each other’s success”
“Travis isn’t like that. He is the 1st boyfriend to embrace who she is, and he celebrates her success loudly and proudly.”
“Oh no…. that is not the take we get from this. Did you see Travis’ face?? He is so dang proud of Taylor, he’s bursting with it.”
“When have you ever seen Travis try to take any kind of spotlight from Taylor? He knows his place.”
I hate that this woman made me side with the Swifties, but here we are.
