David Letterman Defends Taylor Swift Against Her NFL Haters — and Mixes Up Travis Kelce with Kelsey Grammer

“It’s good for the footballers, it’s good for Taylor Swift and it’s something positive and happy for the world,” he said

 Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift; David Letterman

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift; David Letterman. PHOTO: PATRICK SMITH/GETTY IMAGES; MICHAEL HICKEY/GETTY IMAGES

David Letterman is Team Taylor Swift — and he wants haters to “shut up!”

Addressing NFL fans who dislike seeing Swift, 34, on their TV screens at Chiefs games, the talk show host defended the “Anti-Hero” singer.

“Now here’s Taylor Swift, who is a glowing bright light of goodness in the world and she starts dating Kelsey Grammer,” said Letterman, 76, accidentally mixing up Swift’s 34-year-old football boyfriend Travis Kelce with the Frasier actor, in footage shared via a new Instagram post.

“No, that’s not true,” interrupted producer Barbara Gaines, who can be heard offscreen in the clip that resurfaced from a video originally posted in October 2023 just after Swift and Kelce started dating.

“People go crazy [about seeing Swift],” Letterman continued. “The [Kelce] people say, ‘No, no, don’t bother us. We’re all caught up in football. We don’t want Taylor in football.’”

Letterman, who has had the “Cruel Summer” singer as an interview guest or musical guest several times on Late Show before his 2015 departure, went on to describe all the hype around Swift during football games as a good thing for everyone in a world of “nonsense and ugliness.”

“This is such a lovely thing. Shut up!” he concluded. “It’s good for the footballers. It’s good for Taylor Swift. And it’s something positive and happy for the world. … God bless, Taylor Swift and Kelsey Grammer.”

Travis Kelce; Kelsey Grammer

Travis Kelce; Kelsey Grammer.KEVIN SABITUS/GETTY IMAGES; TODD OWYOUNG/NBC VIA GETTY IMAGES

Swift previously addressed viewers who hate seeing her on NFL broadcasts during Kansas City Chiefs games, too, describing those haters as “a few dads, Brads and Chads” in her Time’s 2023 Person of the Year interview.

“There’s a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don’t know where it is, and you have no idea when the-camera is putting you in the broadcast, so I don’t know if I’m being shown 17 times or once,” she told the publication. “I’m just there to support Travis. I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads and Chads.”

 Travis Kelce Rocks Chain Necklace and All-Black Outfit amid Reputation (Taylor’s Version) Speculation

The 12-time Grammy winner has attended 12 Chiefs games since she and Kelce went public with their relationship in September 2023. With Swift in attendance, the Chiefs have won nine games and lost only three games.

When the Chiefs punched their ticket into the 2024 Super Bowl, after defeating the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 28, Kelce found Swift on the field after his victory, hugged her and kissed her.

Travis Kelce Says Taylor Swift Is ‘Best Thing Possible’ Following ‘Amazing’ Trip to Australia

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Eras Tour Sydney

Taylor Swift (left) and Travis Kelce (right). PHOTO: DON ARNOLD/TAS24/GETTY; JAMES GOURLEY/SHUTTERSTOCK

Travis Kelce is making a statement about his girlfriend Taylor Swift!

Speaking on Wednesday’s episode of his New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce podcast, the NFL star, 34, called Swift, 34, the “biggest and best thing possible” after his trip to Australia to watch her during her Eras Tour.

“A lot of false media being tossed out there. But I’ll tell you what wasn’t false, and it was when I landed in Australia and seen all the cameras,” Kelce said.

Describing the zoo he visited in Sydney with Swift, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end added, “There were full-on helicopters just flying around. They helicoptered us! Well, not us, Taylor.”

“This is all because Taylor is the biggest and the best thing possible,” Travis added.

 

City Chiefs Travis Kelce (87) kisses girlfriend and singer Taylor Swift following victory vs San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium.

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift following Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory against San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024.ERICK W. RASCO/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED VIA GETTY

 

“But I tell you what though the kangaroos were pretty sweet, got to see a red panda up close and personal,” he added. “It’s like a friendly raccoon.”

“Saw a tiger sitting up in a tree house, that s— was f—— sweet, ain’t gonna lie,” he continued. “Saw a lion close up. Due, when you hear that, cause Taylor took the picture, [roar] you’re just like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ let alone one, you see three of them run down from their rock, their perch, knowing they’re about to get fed and you see how fast and agile that thing is, dude it’s over.”

Taylor Swift performs during The Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood Monday, Aug. 7, 2023

Taylo Swift during The Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood Monday, Aug. 7, 2023.ALLEN J. SCHABEN/LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA GETTY

 

“I’m not messing with cats, it doesn’t matter what size!,” Jason replied, to which his younger brother said, “You could tell one was the big bad, I was like ‘damn, that’s a bad man right there.'”

“It was fun,” Travis added. “That was a fun one and then we got to enjoy the Taylor Swift show.”

Meanwhile, the podcast episode also saw Travis compare Sydney to Miami.

“Sydney was a beautiful city,” he said. “The layout was very similar, I want to say to Miami, but it has a lot of intercoastal and it was cool to see the layout of the land over there, let alone the zoo and seeing all the exotic animals over there. It was fun, man.”