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Travis Kelce Dodges Question About Taylor Swift’s ‘Karma’ Inspiration After She Changes Lyric for Him
Travis Kelce has no qualms talking about his relationship with Taylor Swift, but he also knows how to expertly dodge a question he doesn’t want to answer.
The NFL star, 34, appeared on the Monday, June 24, episode of the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast, where he and the hosts discussed their favorite Taylor, 34, songs. Will Compton revealed that “Karma” was one of his favorites and said it was because his daughter, Cerulean “Rue” Belle, is a fan of the track.
“Does she know who karma is?” Travis asked, with a smirk on his face. He was referencing Taylor’s famous lyric change on the track, which she debuted in November 2023 at a concert in Buenos Aires, singing, “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me.” She has since sang the same lyric whenever Travis is in attendance at the Eras tour.
Will, 34, seemed a bit confused by the question and thought Travis was asking who actually inspired the song. “I don’t know if Rue knows who ‘Karma’ is about,” he admitted. “‘Karma’ is [Jake] Gyllenhaal, right?”
Instead of directly responding to the host’s question, Travis dodged a bullet by simply saying, “What happened?” Will eventually figured out the context of the conversation. “I know it’s changed,” he confirmed. “I know it’s about the boy now, right? I remember that one moment, that clip dropped, and she said that and everybody’s going nuts. The camera pans over to Trav and he’s kind of grinning in the backstage part.”
“Karma” is from Taylor’s 2022 album, Midnights, and features her singing to those who have wronged her in the past as she points out all of the great things she has in her life that they never will. Before the lyric change, she originally sang, “Karma is the guy on the screen, coming straight home to me,” referring to her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, who she was dating at the time of the song’s release.
Although Travis didn’t want to discuss the inspiration behind “Karma,” he didn’t hold back when talking about how “proud” he was to be Taylor’s boyfriend. “It’s like, you want to keep things private, but at the same time, I’m not here to hide anything,” he explained. “Like, that’s my girl. That’s my lady.”
He also gushed over how “self-aware” the pop star is and added, “I think that’s why I really started to fall for her, was how genuine she is around friends [and] family. It can get crazy for somebody with that much attention and she just keeps it so chill and so cool.”
The professional athlete recalled Taylor attending her first Kansas City Chiefs game in September 2023 and revealed that he loved seeing her walk in the regular stadium entrance to spend time with his family and friends in a private suite. “She really won me over with that one,” he admitted.
The interview was released one day after Travis joined Taylor on stage at the Eras tour in London. While attending his third concert in a row, the football star became part of the production as he assisted in a skit during The Tortured Poets Department set. Travis joined two of Taylor’s dancers during the bit, which took place before she performed “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.”
