Taylor Swift has described her love with Travis Kelce as “So High School,” but one of their fellow celebs doesn’t see them graduating to the next level.
Known to fans as “Tayvis,” Swift’s relationship with Kelce has easily been one of her most publicized pairings to date. There are several reasons for that: she’s found a new audience in Kelce’s NFL fandom, she’s in the midst of her career-defining Eras Tour, and Swifties are excited she’s putting herself back out there after laying low with her ex, Joe Alwyn. Other celebs have had plenty to say about Swift and Kelce’s relationship, with famous fans giving their seal of approval.
That said, not everyone is down bad for Swift, Kelce, and the amount of attention they’ve received. 2024 Golden Globes host Jo Koy’s joke about Swift’s camera time during football games may have fallen flat, but more than a few celebs seem to be feeling the Tayvis fatigue. In October 2023, Olivia Wilde reposted a tweet on her Instagram Story that read, “I wish Taylor Swift was in love with a climate scientist” — not necessarily a dig at the couple themselves, but still, a critique at the volume of media coverage that could instead go to less trivial matters. More recently, the Reddit community r/travisandtaylor, a snark page dedicated to calling out Swift and Kelce’s shady side, surpassed a milestone 100,000 members. With anti-Tayvis sentiments on the rise, Bill Maher of all people has joined the crescendoing chorus.
Bill Maher’s brutal breakup prediction for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
Bill Maher is adding his two cents to the conversation about Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and whether they’re truly each other’s end game. On the July 28 episode of his podcast, “Club Random with Bill Maher,” the political pundit didn’t mince any words, even coming for the singer’s age and imitating her with a mocking valley girl voice. “Look, I’m sure she’s a lovely person, but the whole thing with the football player … I just felt like 35 was a little old to be like, ‘My boyfriend’s a football player, and I wear his jersey to the game with his number on it!’ I mean, come on,” he said.
Maher continued, “He’s gonna dump her, though, You know that? With her, it’s like the Gatorade at the Super Bowl, you know you’re gonna get dumped. You just don’t know when.” His guest, social media star Hailey Welch, lightly defended Swift and wondered about the possibilities of the resulting breakup album. However, Maher called Swift’s habit of singing about her exes “very tacky” and concluded his rant by saying, “It does seem like such a recurrent theme … At some point, you just wanna say, maybe you should write a song called ‘Maybe It’s Me.'”
While Swifties and Tayvis shippers are predictably incensed by Maher’s comments, he wasn’t totally negative about their idol. Still, his faint praise wasn’t enough to stop them from swarming after him in droves.
Swifties have it out for Bill Maher
Throughout his career, Bill Maher has made enemies all across the political aisle, including his former friend, Howard Stern. But with the Swifties gunning for him, he might have met his most formidable match yet. That said, Maher did bookend his harsh takes on Swift with a few compliments.
While broaching the subject of country music with his guest Hailey Welch, Maher was the first one to mention Swift. He began, “I liked her more when she was country. I love ‘Sparks Fly.'” When Welch asked if he was being genuine, Maher replied, “Would I have name-checked it if I didn’t? … I don’t think I’d put it on purposely to like, commune with it, but it’s in my playlist. I love it.” Maher came back with more props for Swift after delving into his gloomy take on her and Kelce’s relationship. “I’m an admirer. The Beatles, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, other musical performers who’ve had immense careers like this when they’ve dominated beyond just mere culture … and she has too. So I have to put her in that pantheon.”
Still, the damage was already done for many Swifties. One fan tweeted, “Another deeply unfamous and unfunny man taking shots at Taylor’s personal life by calling her songwriting tacky.” Another fan agreed, saying, “Bill Maher making embarrassingly outdated jokes about Taylor Swift writing songs about her exes and ‘maybe she should write a song called ‘Maybe It’s Me’ is wildly par for the course. Imagine thinking you’re funny but using a 2009 trope as your reference. What a clown.”
