Taylor Swift will play Rio de Janeiro tonight and it’s looking like a takeover because even the Christ the Redeemer statue is a Swiftie now. 

 

As we have seen, Taylor’s been a cultural force this fall with a run of big professional wins while starring in the best rom-com of the last decade. When I wrote about the TNT rom-com earlier this week, though, I mentioned that if we’re going by rom-com formula, we were still in act one, which is smooth sailing and only good vibes. Act two is when it starts to get bumpy. Have we entered act two? 

Because over the last couple of days, Swifties have been digging into some of Travis Kelce’s old tweets. Some of them are hilarious, the musings of a himbo obliviously bumbling through life without having to encounter anything more complicated than what to eat for lunch – burgers or tacos? 

 

Some of the tweets, however, aren’t as harmless – there’s fat shaming and other forms of misogyny and, obviously, this isn’t a good look. The tweets even made it onto The View, as the hosts discussed whether or not Travis’s old tweets merit concern and/or cancellation. 

 

I’m not here to defend Travis just because I love the show he and Taylor have been putting on the last couple of months. But also, I don’t think anyone was out here thinking Trav could contend for Jeopardy! champion and the Nobel Prize – he’s considered one of the best tight ends in the NFL, he came up through the American football system…who out there actually thought he would be enlightened and evolved back when he was like 20 or whatever and just starting college on the path to going pro? 

If we’re rewinding to 2010, though, which is when many of Travis’s problematic old tweets were posted, Taylor herself was guilty of misogyny, too. Remember the lyrics from “Better Than Revenge”? 

“She’s not a saint

And she’s not what you think 

She’s an actress

But she’s better known for the things 

That she does on the mattress”

 

Those lyrics were changed just this past summer when Taylor released Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) so she would probably understand that the sh-t that Travis was saying back during that time might not represent who he is now. Which is a totally different situation from Matty Healy, who is the same age as both Taylor and Travis, because when Swifties went in on him earlier this year, the comments they were resurfacing were much more recent. Like within the last couple of years. 

Still, given how much intense interest there is around TNT these days, it’s the first hiccup that the two have had to encounter. And specifically for Travis, who’s been basking in a honeymoon of public positivity, this is the first time, at this level of fame, he’ll have to confront some backlash. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles it, because it’ll be the first real test of whether or not he can take the volcanic levels of heat that come with being Taylor Swift’s boyfriend. 

And on top of that, we’re coming up on a big game. Monday Night, Kansas City plays Philadelphia, a huge day on the Kelce family calendar because the brothers, Jason and Travis, are going head-to-head. Their parents will obviously be there, but now it’s being reported that Taylor’s parents will be there, too. Travis just met Taylor’s father, Scott, in Buenos Aires last weekend, and Scott appeared to be a big fan. 

 

Taylor’s mother, who is battling cancer, has yet to make her first appearance in the rom-com of the year. So all eyes will be on the suite on Monday to see if the Kelces and the Swifts do actually meet for the first time. And to see if Taylor shows up, too. Because she’s performing the third of three shows on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro and that gives her more than enough time to hop on her jet and make it back to Philly in time for the game on Monday. No one has a bigger boner for her possible attendance that night than the NFL and its broadcasters. 

It would be a great way to head into American Thanksgiving week, with a brand-new episode of TNT. And that in itself brings up a whole other set of questions about the holiday. Like, will they spend Thanksgiving together in KC before Taylor goes back to Brazil for the final three shows of the South American leg of her tour? After that she has about ten weeks off before she goes to Asia in February. 

It’ll be a TNT holiday special with her birthday on December 13 as the appetiser. If, that is, these old tweets are the worst of it. We’ll see if Swifties dig up any worse. 

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