Charles Barkley Says Football Fans Criticizing Taylor Swift Are Either "A Loser or a Jackass"

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Charles Barkley and Taylor Swift
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Charles Barkley has taken football fans hating on Taylor Swift down a notch.

The former NBA pro and current TV analyst didn't hold back his thoughts on the matter, telling Gayle King and Bob Costas on the King Charles show, "If you’re screaming at Taylor Swift saying she ruined [football], you’re just a loser. You’re just a loser or a jackass. You’re either A or B. You’re one of the two."

Costas agreed, adding, "All of a sudden, because they don't like something about Taylor Swift—either they don’t like the Chiefs or they’ve inferred that Taylor Swift might not be a Trumper—then they’re annoyed by Taylor Swift. I can guarantee you that all this news on Fox News would not be happening if she was wearing a MAGA hat. They would love it."

Swift revealed in 2018 that she was planning to vote Democrat in the midterm elections, causing a voter registration surge and angering Republicans simultaneously.

As demonstrated by Jo Koy's ill-received joke about the NFL coverage of Swift at the Golden Globes, football fans have been blaming the singer for how often she's shown on their TV screens during games.

As most reasonable people have pointed out, though, not only is Swift not responsible for how often she's shown on camera, but all she's doing is existing and showing up to support her boyfriend. Criticizing that is—at the very least—quite weird.

Kelce himself addressed the backlash in a recent interview, saying, "I'm having fun with it, the majority of the world is having fun with it outside of all the cranky NFL fans." Wholesome king.

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Taylor Swift regularly receives hateful comments for cheering on her football-playing boyfriend Travis Kelce.

(Image credit: Getty Images)
Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.