Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
Travis Kelce has revealed that it was his idea to perform at girlfriend Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour show in London - and that his biggest fear was dropping her during their dance routine.
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end posed as one of the singer’s backup dancers during her set at Wembley Stadium on June 23. Dressed in top hat and tails, he picked Swift up and carried her across the stage during her song “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” where she needs to be “revived” from the dead to perform.
“I was up there with three professionals. You can do no wrong with Taylor on stage. [I kept telling myself], ‘Do not drop the baby. Hold onto the baby,’”he told his brother Jason Kelce on the latest episode of their New Heights podcast, adding that he also was willing himself not to “f*** this up.”
“I initially mentioned it to Tay,” he said, about the possibility of being involved in one of her shows. “I was like, ‘How funny would it be if I just rolled out on one of the bikes during the 1989 era.’”
According to the football player, Swift originally thought he was joking before she asked him: “‘Would you seriously be up for doing something like that?’”
Travis admitted that he was very quick to agree to the idea, noting how familiar he is with the show because he’s seen it so many times. “I was just like, ‘What? I would love to do that, are you kidding me? I’ve seen the show enough — might as well put me to work here,’” he said. “And sure enough, she found the perfect part of the show for me to come in.”
Despite his initial idea of riding a bike, he ended up on the stage in a tuxedo and top hat instead. “There was no bike in case I ran into somebody else or hit one of the dancers or anything,” Travis explained. “It was the safest option.”
During their routine, Kelce also was seen powdering Swift’s face and doing some dance moves, which he admitted were inspired by Jim Carrey in the movie, Dumb and Dumber.
“I always wanted to pull out this move, but I never knew like when I should pull it out where it made sense,” he said. “That’s one of my favorite moves of all time!”
He explained how much he loved the experience, praising Swift’s performing skills as he called her “a true showman.”
“It was an absolute blast,” Travis said. “It was such a fun, playful part of the show and it was like … the perfect time for me to go up there, just be a ham and have some fun — not only with [Swift]… but the crowd and really try and get everybody excited for the rest of the show. It was awesome.”
On the podcast episode, the Chiefs player also talked about how shocked he was by the crowd’s reaction to him showing up.
“When everyone found out that it was me — because it took a second for everyone to figure it out — that moment was pretty jarring. I was just like, ‘Oh s***,’” he said. “And you don’t realize how big that damn stage is. It is easily as big as a football stadium … it’s way bigger than I could have ever imagined.”
“But no, it was awesome. And I didn’t disappoint Taylor, so that’s all that really matters.”
