The NFL schedule is working out for TNT, since Kansas City played on Thursday it left Travis Kelce free to be in New York the whole weekend with Taylor Swift. They were photographed out for dinner, attending Karen Elson’s wedding, and yesterday they were at the US Open being super cute together, kissing and hugging and holding hands, serving up all the TNT content that usually fuels the gossip ecosystem. 

 

This is what we’re supposed to be talking about today – that and Travis’s bucket hat which I’m not actually mad at because it fits his goofy and eyeroll but irresistible personality. I like to imagine her face when he walks out just before they leave, a combination of resignation and affection. She’s not going to change this man and she doesn’t want to. 

 

Is this what people are talking about though? Is TNT actually the A plot? Or has it become the B plot because of Brittany Mahomes? 

Patrick and Brittany were also at the US Open with TNT and, unlike on Thursday when Taylor and Brittany were seated in separate suites, leading to speculation over whether or not Taylor was distancing herself from Brittany because she’s MAGA, all four were together – and emphatically together; Taylor and Brittany were seen hugging. It almost seems intentional and as I wrote last week, Taylor can be defiant when it comes to her relationships and her fans’ expectations about how she manages them. 

Many Swifties are determined to separate their favourite artists from the friends she chooses to keep in her circle. They insist that just because Taylor is still close to Brittany it doesn’t necessarily mean she’s voting for Trump. Brittany, after all, is married to her boyfriend’s best friend and teammate. It’s a tricky situation – should her fans’ criticism have an impact on Travis and Patrick and their connection? After all, that connection is critical to Kansas City’s success. And imagine the reaction in Kansas City if the Super Bowl champions’ chemistry is affected by a popstar and her politics? 

 

Other Swifties, however, are extremely disappointed. That’s the conversation that’s been happening online. 

 

There have been arguments all over social media about this. And that’s where my interest is – Taylor’s bond with her fans is one of the most intense parasocial relationships we have in pop culture. It was bad when it was Matty Healy but this, potentially, could go to another level because the stakes are that much higher. We’re talking about what many are saying is the most important election in American history. Taylor has yet to endorse a candidate. She may not endorse a candidate at all. And if she continues to not endorse a candidate but spend quality time with a person who has endorsed the worst candidate, well, people are going to continue to make assumptions. Her fans are making assumptions. What will the next few weeks look like where Taylor is concerned? 

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