ESPN host Stephen A. Smith leapt to the defense of Taylor Swift after the pop star was accused of negatively impacting Kansas City Chiefs boyfriend Travis Kelce‘s game.

The Anti-Hero hitmaker, 34, has attended several of the tight end’s games this season to great fanfare and attention with the broadcast often focusing on her in the stands.

But as the Chiefs have slumped in recent weeks, NFL fans have been left disgruntled by the attention the songstress was getting from the league and the media.

Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless even chimed in, claiming it was time to start calling Swift a distraction to Kelce and the reigning Super Bowl champions following their defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day. 

Swift was also left unimpressed when Golden Globes host Jo Koy made an distasteful joke at her and Kelce’s expense Sunday night. 

ESPN host Stephen A. Smith
Taylor Swift

ESPN host Stephen A. Smith (left) leapt to the defense of Taylor Swift (right) amid criticism

The pop star was accused of negatively impacting Chiefs boyfriend Travis Kelce's game

The pop star was accused of negatively impacting Chiefs boyfriend Travis Kelce’s game

However, Bayless’s ESPN rival Smith hit back at Swift’s critics, insisting it wasn’t her fault the cameras were on her. 

‘I have to take a moment to come to the defense of Taylor Swift,’ Smith said on Wednesday’s episode of First Take.

‘Everybody’s sitting up there and acting like she’s some kind of impediment and, excuse me, she did her job! That Eras Tour? Off the chain. Generated billions.

‘[…] 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. Oh no! Those kids were going to her concerts whether the NFL was promoting her or not!

‘Taylor Swift is that girl. Let’s show some respect. She probably is gonna have a positive on Travis Kelce’s performance, okay? I’m not trying to disrespect Taylor Swift.’

Bayless wasn’t the only one to point the finger at Swift as OutKick founder Clay Travis also chimed in.

Travis took to Twitter on Christmas Day, after the Chiefs loss, and wrote: ‘The Chiefs are not a good football team and Travis Kelce looks like he should retire.

Skip Bayless called Swift out on social media and further discussed her influence on his Undisputed show

Clay Travis questioned Kelce for his involvement with Swift

Skip Bayless (left) and Clay Travis (right) have been the leading critics of Swift and Kelce

Bayless took to social media to question whether the pop star was a dsitraction to the games

Bayless took to social media to question whether the pop star was a dsitraction to the games

Taylor Swift watches Chiefs play the Patriots at Gillette Stadium

 

‘He’s been worthless the last seven or eight weeks. The double worthless Pfizer shots may have caught up with him. Either that or Taylor Swift is the Chiefs Yoko Ono. Maybe both.’

But both claims were met with derision from NFL fans and Swift’s own supporters, given that the Chiefs clearly have issues on the field, rather than the stands, that clearly need addressing.

Despite the noise, the Chiefs clinched the AFC West division title and sealed their spot in the postseason.

Kelce and co. face the Miami Dolphins at Arrowhead Stadium in the Wild Card round on Saturday.

Stephen A. Smith Backs Taylor Swift Amid Criticism

Stephen A. Smith

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“I have to take a moment to come to the defense of Taylor Swift,” Stephen A. Smith said while appearing on Mad Dog’s A-List segment on ESPN. “Everybody’s sitting up there and acting like she’s some kind of impediment.”

Taylor Swift has said in the past that she is unaware of when the camera is on her during NFL games, and she is just there to support her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and p—ing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads,” she said of the backlash she’s received from NFL fans thus far.

The sports analyst commented on her statement, claiming, “Excuse me, she did her job! That Eras Tour? Off the chain. Generated billions. 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,” he continued. “It’s not like she used the games to bump up the concerts.”

Smith then added how fans are just trying to find excuses so that they can “hate” Taylor Swift. “Those kids were going to her concerts whether the NFL was promoting her or not! Taylor Swift is that girl. Let’s show some respect,” he said.

“She probably is gonna have a positive on Travis Kelce’s performance, OK? I’m not trying to disrespect Taylor Swift,” the sports analyst concluded with.

Other Sports Stars Stand Up For Taylor Swift Amid Backlash

Taylor Swift Struts Into Chiefs Stadium To Cheer On Travis Kelce

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Stephen A. Smith is by far the only sports analyst to defend the pop icon.

“Do not blame Taylor Swift for being a ‘distraction,’ for Travis Kelce not playing well, for the Chiefs playing good…No, it is not her fault,” analyst Elle Duncan on her podcast, ‘The Elle Duncan Show’ last month.

Even former NFL stars are speaking out in Taylor’s defense, including Merril Hoge, who stated, “It’s irrelevant. That’s a media twist. That’s actually just to tell you how weak and stupid media is and people are.”

Adding that Taylor “has nothing to do with the locker room and “somebody who sings songs has zero to do with” the way the Chiefs have been playing.

Police Surround Donna Kelce Ahead Of Chiefs vs Eagles Game

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Hoge then played devil’s advocate, stating, “Her greatness and brilliance, that’d be like her not having a successful album and saying ‘Travis Kelce is because she didn’t have a successful album’. It has nothing to do with it. She has nothing to do with where they are right now.”

Plus, Gracie Hunt, the daughter of Kansas City Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt, has said that Taylor is “wonderful” and loves that she is coming to the Chiefs games.

The Kansas City Chiefs will take on the Miami Dolphins in the NFL Wild Card Round on Saturday, January 13.