Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and girlfriend Taylor Swift are once again the center of attention in the NFL world, and because it’s Swift, the entertainment industry at large. Swift announced her new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” on Travis and Jason Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast.
The interview saw Kelce appear submissive to Swift, prompting USA Today’s Alyssa Goldberg to label the 35-year-old a “black cat boyfriend.”
Goldberg compared Kelce to characters on the Gilmore Girls and One Tree Hill to explain the label.
“We're living through the rise of the ‘black cat boyfriend’ — an archetype of elusive, emotionally complex love interests in shows like ‘Too Much’ (Felix), ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ (Conrad) and ‘Ginny and Georgia’ (Marcus). And while it seems like viewers are rooting for vulnerable men now more than ever, we’ve always had a soft spot for the complicated character with a good heart. Just look at Jess from ‘Gilmore Girls’ or Lucas from ‘One Tree Hill,’” Goldberg wrote.
Kelce explained his elusive, emotional complexity during an interview with GQ that was published last week. As the Chiefs star explained, he does care what people think of him and takes criticism to heart.
“If someone says something that they don’t like about you, you have to be able to understand how you are portraying yourself for them to say that. I’m a guy who doesn’t want anyone to say anything negative about me. Some people don’t give a (expletive). I’m someone who does care,” Kelce said.
It’s an interesting comment from Kelce, who has been no stranger to polarizing public displays. Kelce was famously sponsored by Pfizer and chose to date the most famous pop star in the world.
For someone who hates criticism, he’s not laying low in any conceivable way.
Regardless, Kelce plays in a dog-eat-dog NFL where players will look to use what he’s shared against him.
We’ll see if he can return to his pre-2023, 1,000-yard expectations this coming fall. The world will be watching, especially as he and Swift continue to bathe in the public spotlight.