Four months ago, Taylor Swift popped up on TV screens for the first time. Cheering on her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, Swift drew instant attention. The world quickly became enthralled with their relationship.
From Swifties obsessing over her and Kelce driving away in their getaway car after the game to the instant negative attention of several “Dads, Brads, and Chads,” the world is infatuated with their relationship.
As a Kansas City local and a long-time Taylor Swift superfan, I could not have been more thrilled about the match, but not everyone shared this sentiment. Rumors, speculation and conspiracy theories instantly jumped into the spotlight, an issue which was only made worse by the Chiefs’ unexpected appearance in Super Bowl LVIII.
Swift’s song “Lavender Haze” famously declares, “The only kind of girl they see is a one night or a wife.” As Swift continued to appear at games, both fans and haters took this sentiment to heart, with conspiracy theories swirling about everything from their relationship being a PR stunt to rumors of their engagement.
Specifically within the last month, the conspiracy theories have turned political, with Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again supporters believing Swift to be a figurehead for the Democrats. These theories of MAGA supporters were highlighted in a recent article by The New York Times in January.
According to the story, theories include but are not limited to: Swift is a secret agent for the Pentagon; that she is increasing her fanbase in order to endorse current President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign; or that her relationship with Kelce was an intentional PR stunt to boost NFL viewership and promote COVID-19 vaccines or encourage voter registration for Democrats.
The New York Times article goes on to quote the social media posts of Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate and notorious Trump supporter who also visited Drake’s campus last semester.
“I wonder who’s going to win the Super Bowl next month,” Ramaswamy said in the NYT article. “I wonder if there’s a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall.”
Since Swift notably endorsed Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign, encouraged voter registration and released her song “You Need to Calm Down” about LGBTQ+ rights back in 2019, MAGA supporters and Republicans in general have not been fans of the singer and her political opinions.
Swift is a woman who is incredibly successful at what she does and who also deserves to have a personal life. She should be able to attend her boyfriend’s games to support him and express her opinions on social media just like the rest of us without getting thrown into the deep end with conspiracy theories, factual inaccuracies and speculation.
While Swift’s fans are seen as delusional, obsessive and crazy for following the singer, NFL fans are seen as reasonable and dedicated for cheering on their respective teams in the same way, even if they do cross a line, especially within an organization that has had so much controversy over the last few years. While the league’s MAGA portion of the fanbase tolerates everything from Aaron Rodgers’ infamous anti-vaccine stance and the hateful response to Black players who knelt during the national anthem, a woman supporting her boyfriend is what has sent them over the edge into conspiracy theory territory. This portion of the NFL fanbase is not in a place to continue to ostracize the most famous woman in the world.
With the Chief’s last-minute Super Bowl win on Sunday, Swift is in a precarious position if these MAGA theories spiral out of control. The Chief’s unexpected win “confirms” the conspiracy theories that this season was set-up to push Swift and Kelce into the spotlight for some sort of ulterior motive, further justifying their spread.
Despite the misogyny, political conspiracy theories and football fandom outrage, Swift continues to show up. Taylor, I had the time of my life fighting MAGAs with you.
