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Athletes Who Have Passionately Defended Taylor Swift Attending NFL Games  on February 3, 2024 at 8:45 pm Us Weekly

Published

2 years ago

February 4, 2024

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Many professional athletes do not agree with the “dads, Brads and Chads” hating on Taylor Swift’s attendance at NFL games.

Swift has been a fixture at boyfriend Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs games since September 2023, with the NFL occasionally showing her on the Jumbotron and on the broadcast when Kelce has a big play. The coverage outraged some diehard football supporters, lamenting that Swift is prioritized onscreen over the actual game. Swift and Kelce, meanwhile, haven’t let the haters faze them (and reports have confirmed the league has toned down how often they show the pop star).

“I don’t know how they know what suite I’m in. 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,” Swift told TIME in a December 2023 profile. “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.”

Kelce later marveled at how his “amazing” girlfriend handled the backlash. “I’ll say this, they showed Taylor at the game and you don’t see an entire home team fanbase go insane for somebody wearing the opposite team’s colors,” he said during an episode of his “New Heights” podcast that month. “Just shows you how amazing that girl is.”

He added at the time, “They went absolutely insane when they showed Taylor on the screen. … Might have been a few Brads and Chads that were booing, but for the most part, everybody was f—king screaming at Taylor.”

Swift and Kelce, a tight end for the Chiefs since 2013, aren’t the only ones in favor of her game day attendance. Keep scrolling to see what the stars have said in defense of Swift joining Chiefs Kingdom:

Patrick Mahomes

Mahomes, the Chiefs starting quarterback, is a close friend of Kelce’s and doesn’t see Swift as a game day distraction.

“I don’t think it feels any different. People see the whole Taylor Swift and Travis [thing] and they make it a huge deal because it is a huge deal,” Mahomes said in an ESPN sit-down in November 2023. “I think it becomes a bigger deal to the fanbases than it does to the guys who are actually in the building. … I think you can understand why it’s not become a distraction or anything like that because everybody cares about being the best they can be every day.”

Jason Kelce

Travis’ older brother, who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, is all-in on the NFL’s coverage of Swift since she’s an “unbelievable role model.”

“The attention’s there because the audience wants to see it. If people didn’t want to see it, they wouldn’t be showing it, I know that,” Jason quipped during an interview with Cincinnati’s ABC affiliate WCPO 9 in February 2024. “She’s a world star and the quintessential artist right now in the world.”

He continued: “[She’s] immensely talented, an unbelievable role model for young women across the globe, so I think that the NFL would probably be foolish not to show her and show her be a role model for all the young girls out there.”

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

J.J. Watt

The retired football star confessed to Us Weekly that he “can’t understand” why football fans have been “so upset” about Swift supporting Kelce’s career.

“I mean, they show celebrities at games all the time. Don’t act like we don’t show male celebrities at games all the time,” he exclusively told Us in January 2024. “I don’t really understand why it’s caused such an uproar. I mean, she’s literally there supporting her significant other, and that’s what you should do as a significant other.”

Shannon Sharpe

“They lose a game, [some will say] it’s because of her. And they win a game, [some will ask], ‘Why [are] the cameras on her?’ But I like it,” Sharpe, a retired tight end, exclusively told Us in January 2024. “I like it for him. I like her being at the game. She brings a different set of eyeballs to the game. There are a lot of young girls and women that are watching the NFL football that could care less about that. And so the NFL’s, like, ‘Hey, if we get new eyeballs, we get new customers, we’re onboard.’”

Dan Marino

The retired Miami Dolphins quarterback told Us in January 2024 that Swift “hasn’t affected any games” from her perch in the stadium crowd.

“She might as well have fun and enjoy it while she’s dating one of the stars in the NFL. And what’s wrong with that? Nothing,” Marino quipped.

Kirk Cousins

Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins also sees Swift’s presence as a “positive for the league” despite certain fans booing her whenever the Chiefs lost a game.

“I mean, fans are going to be fans [and] maybe they blame her,” Cousins told Us in January 2024. “I don’t know if the blame is well placed, but I think a lot of the games she’s attended, they played really well and they won.”

Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Charles Barkley

“If you’re screaming at Taylor Swift saying she ruined [football], you’re just a loser,” the retired NBA All Star quipped during a February 2024 episode of his King Charles show. “You’re just a loser or a jackass. You’re either A or B. You’re one of the two.”

Drue Tranquill

“They’ve got really, really something going and we enjoy having her at our games,” the Chiefs linebacker said on the “Zach Gelb Show” in January 2024. “It brings a lot of energy and a lot of fun to our fans. And so that’s good for business, good for football and good for the NFL.”

Christian Okoye

The retired Chiefs running back stressed to TMZ Sports in December 2023 that Swift has “nothing to do” with the team’s game record.

“Taylor Swift is not on the field. Travis is playing like he always plays,” Okoye said. “Teams are just doubling up on him now knowing that our receivers are dropping the balls. When you’re doing bad, people have to find excuses and they have to point fingers. Especially those who don’t like the situation about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.”

Which Taylor Swift Rerecord Is Your Favorite?

Eli Manning

After news broke that Kelce was planning to spend his November 2023 bye week in Argentina to see Swift on her Eras Tour, the former Giants quarterback defended the vacation.

“I think the bye week is a great time to get away from football and I think that’s the idea,” Manning told People at the time. “It is the time to rest the body, rest the mind a little bit, recharge yourself to get ready for that second half of the season.”

He continued, “I think for him to travel, there’s nothing wrong with traveling, going somewhere. Hey, if he wants to go and support his girlfriend and see her play a concert, I’ve got no problem with that.”

Carl Banks

The retired linebacker dismissed the backlash during a February 2024 interview with Page Six.

“I’m not down with the negative energy. I’m loving all of what they’re doing. I’m here for it,” Banks said. “[Their relationship] is one of the great moments of this NFL season and anybody that’s got a problem with it, they need to cope harder. If you can show my good friend Spike Lee at every Knicks game and every opponent’s game, then why not Taylor?”

Justin Ford/Getty Images

Stephen A. Smith

The sportscaster has become one of the most vocal members of Tayvis Nation (the fan-appointed nickname for Swift and Kelce’s supporters) — and frequently defends the Grammy winner’s game day outings.

“I have to take a moment to come to the defense of Taylor Swift,” Smith said during a January 2024 ESPN broadcast. “Everybody’s sitting up there and acting like she’s some kind of impediment. … She’s going to support her dude. To show up at a football game and the cameras are on her — that ain’t her fault! And excuse me, by the way, she went to the games after the concerts. It’s not like she used the games to bump up the concerts.”

Colin Cowherd

Cowherd went on an impassioned rant about the “really weird, lonely, insecure men” hating on Swift’s NFL presence during a January 2024 episode of his The Herd radio show.

“The fact that a pop star — the world’s biggest pop star — [is] dating a star tight end, who had one of his greatest games ever, and the network puts them on the air briefly, that bothers you. What does that say about your life?” Cowherd, a sportscaster, quipped. “Did you know, statistically, in a three-hour NFL broadcast … just 18 minutes are actual football, and we have the data, you don’t turn away. There’s coach cutaways, they show fans in Buffalo on fire, commercials, reviews. [It’s] 18 minutes of real football, [which] for the record [is] about the length of five Taylor Swift songs.”

Steven Ferdman/Getty Images

Elle Duncan

Duncan, an ESPN commentator, also called out the double standard during a December 2023 episode of her“Elle Duncan Show” podcast.

“It is not her fault. I am so tired of us doing this. And we do this to women,” Duncan lamented. “It’s Jessica Simpson’s fault [that] Tony Romo spit the bit. Remember Kim Kardashian and Miles Austin for a hot second? It’s her fault. It’s always the woman’s fault for ‘distracting.’ Nobody’s asking if Travis Kelce is distracting her from a world tour. No one’s saying that. And I don’t like that.”

Getty Images (3) Many professional athletes do not agree with the “dads, Brads and Chads” hating on Taylor Swift’s attendance at NFL games. Swift has been a fixture at boyfriend Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs games since September 2023, with the NFL occasionally showing her on the Jumbotron and on the broadcast when Kelce has

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This ‘Too Small’ Christmas Movie Turned an $18M Gamble Into a Half‑Billion Classic

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57 minutes ago

December 3, 2025

Bolanle Media Staff

Studios almost left this Christmas staple on the cutting‑room floor. Executives initially saw it as a “small” seasonal comedy with limited box‑office upside, and internal budget fights kept the project hovering in limbo around an $18 million price tag.

The fear was simple: why spend real money on a kid‑driven holiday film that would vanish from theaters by January?

That cautious logic aged terribly. Once released, the movie exploded past expectations, pulling in roughly $475–$500 million worldwide and camping at the top of the box office for weeks.

That’s a return of more than 25 times its production budget, putting it among the most profitable holiday releases in modern studio history.

What some decision‑makers viewed as disposable seasonal content quietly became a financial engine that still prints money through re‑runs, streaming, and merchandising every December.

The story behind the numbers is part of why fans feel so attached to it. This was not a four‑quadrant superhero bet with guaranteed franchise upside; it was a character‑driven family comedy built on specific jokes, one child star, and a very particular vision of Christmas chaos. The fact that it nearly got shelved—and then turned into a half‑billion global phenomenon—makes every rewatch feel like a win against studio risk‑aversion.

When you press play each year, you are not just revisiting nostalgia; you are revisiting the rare moment when a “small” movie out‑performed the system that almost killed it.

Entertainment

Anne Hathaway Just Turned Her Instagram Bio Into a 2026 Release Calendar

Published

2 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Bolanle Media Staff

Anne Hathaway has quietly confirmed that 2026 is going to be her year, and she did it in the most Anne way possible: with a soft-launch in her Instagram bio.

Instead of a traditional studio announcement, the Oscar-winning actor updated her profile text with a simple list of titles and dates, effectively revealing a four-film run that reads like a mini festival of her work spread across the year.

For fans, the bio now doubles as a watchlist, mapping out exactly when they will see her next on the big screen.

According to the update, Hathaway will kick off 2026 with “Mother Mary,” slated for an April release. The film, backed by A24, casts her as a fictional pop star in a psychological, music‑driven drama that has already started building buzz through early trailer drops and stills. Positioned in the spring, it sets the tone for a year where Hathaway leans hard into challenging, high‑concept material while still anchoring major studio projects.

Just weeks later, she pivots from pop icon to fashion-world nostalgia with “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” now dated for May 1, 2026. The sequel brings her back as Andy Sachs, returning to the universe that helped define her mid‑2000s stardom and remains a staple in meme culture and rewatches. For millennials who grew up quoting the original, the firm release date signals that the long-rumored follow‑up is no longer hypothetical—it’s locked in, with Hathaway front and center.

The cast: Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, Meryl Streep
The devil wears Prada

Summer belongs to “The Odyssey,” marked for July 17, 2026. Billed as an ambitious, big‑screen reimagining of the classic tale, the project reunites Hathaway with large‑scale, auteur‑driven filmmaking and promises mythic stakes, prestige casting, and blockbuster spectacle. Its prime July slot suggests confidence from the studio and positions Hathaway as a key face of the 2026 summer season, not just a supporting player in someone else’s tentpole.

Hathaway at the 2007 Deauville American Film Festival

Finally, Hathaway’s bio points to “Verity,” arriving October 2, 2026, rounding out the year with a dark, suspense‑driven turn. Adapted from a hit thriller novel, the film casts her in a psychologically intense role that leans into obsession, secrets, and unreliable narratives—terrain that plays to her ability to toggle between vulnerability and menace in a single scene. Coming at the start of awards season, “Verity” also gives her a potential late‑year prestige vehicle after a run of crowd‑pleasing releases.

What makes this reveal so striking is the casualness of it. In one short line, Hathaway essentially published a studio slate: four movies, four distinct genres, and a timeline that keeps her on screens from spring through fall. For Hollywood, it underlines her staying power as a true marquee name; for fans, it’s an invitation to mark their calendars and prepare for a year where Anne Hathaway isn’t just part of the conversation—she is the conversation.

Entertainment

Colombia’s ‘Doll’ Arrest: Police Say a 23-Year-Old Orchestrated Hits, Including Her Ex’s Murder

Published

3 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Bolanle Media Staff

Authorities in Colombia say Karen Julieth Ojeda Rodríguez, 23, known as “La Muñeca” (“The Doll”), was arrested in early December on allegations she coordinated contract killings for the Los de la M gang and helped set up the murder of her ex-boyfriend in July. Police reported seizing a 9mm pistol and a revolver during the operation and are testing the weapons against recent homicides in Barrancabermeja, a city battered by drug-war killings this year.

What police allege

Investigators describe Ojeda Rodríguez as a youthful face with a senior role: not a trigger-puller, but a coordinator who relayed orders to sicarios, managed target selection, and handled logistics for a network tied to drug trafficking and extortion in Santander. They say she rose quickly within Los de la M, operating in hot spots like Barrancabermeja and Piedecuesta, where rivalries over territory and revenue have fueled violence.

The July killing at the center

Prosecutors allege she lured her ex-boyfriend, Deyvy Jesús García Palomino (“Orejas”), to a rural meeting on July 23 under the guise of settling a money dispute. When he arrived, two shooters on a motorcycle attacked at close range; he later died at the hospital. Investigators point to recovered messages to argue the meetup was a setup arranged in advance, and they claim she and an accomplice received roughly 4 million pesos—about $1,000—for the hit.

The December takedown

Police announced her capture following a targeted early-December sweep, framing it as a blow to Los de la M’s homicide pipeline.

Alongside Ojeda Rodríguez, officers detained an alleged accomplice known as “Gorda Sicaria” who purportedly passed orders to gunmen, and a man identified as “Leopoldo.”

Forensic tests on the seized weapons aim to link the guns to crime scenes amid a year marked by more than a hundred killings in Barrancabermeja, according to media cited by authorities.

A clear timeline

July 23: Ex-boyfriend “Orejas” shot after a rural meetup; he dies in hospital the same day. Authorities later cite phone messages as evidence of premeditation.
Late 2024: Police publicly identify “La Muñeca” as an alleged coordinator within Los de la M tied to multiple homicides in Santander.
Early December 2025: Targeted operation results in the arrests of Ojeda Rodríguez and alleged accomplices; police seize a 9mm pistol and a revolver for ballistic testing.

Why the case resonates

The contrast between the “Doll” moniker and the accusations of top-level murder coordination has fueled global attention, while the intimate ex-partner setup adds a personal dimension to an already combustible gang narrative. Authorities caution that ballistic and judicial proceedings are ongoing, but they characterize the arrests as a significant hit to a group blamed for a wave of killings in the region.