NFL star Josh Allen condemns photos of him kissing Hailee Steinfeld as invasion of ‘privacy’

Buffalo Bills quarterback sparked romance rumours with ‘Pitch Perfect’ star in May

NFL star Josh Allen has called out the “gross” paparazzi who snapped a photo of him and rumoured girlfriend Hailee Steinfeld kissing during a recent trip to Mexico.

The Buffalo Bills quarterback, 27, and the Pitch Perfect star, 26, were photographed embracing in a pool in Mexico last July. In the photos, the rumoured couple both sported dark sunglasses while Steinfeld donned a straw hat.

During an appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast on Wednesday 2 August, Allen opened up about the difficulties of dating someone in the spotlight.

“Have you been reading the news about yourself?” host Eric Sollenberger asked Allen, referring to the intimate paparazzi photos. “There was a headline and it just said, ‘Josh Allen makes out with his girlfriend on vacation.’”

The football player then explained that the pictures had been taken by photographers who were “on a boat” and that he’d spotted the paparazzi from his resort. “The fact that anybody cares about that still blows my mind,” Allen said.

“I saw it and I just felt this gross feeling. The insecurity, no privacy. I was like, ‘What’s wrong with you?’” he noted.

Allen and Steinfeld first sparked romance rumours in May when they were spotted at a restaurant together in New York City. While neither Allen nor Steinfeld have publicly commented on their relationship status, the quarterback made no objection when the Pardon My Take podcast hosts referred to the Hawkeye actor as his “girlfriend”.

Following their reported date, a source told People that the rumoured couple have been “hanging out for a few weeks,” adding: “It’s new, but they are having fun.”

In June, the two were reportedly “still dating and getting to know each other” but were “not putting too much pressure” on things as Allen was “going to be very busy with training camp”.

Allen was previously in a long-term relationship with ex-girlfriend Brittany Williams since 2017. The two sparked breakup rumours after she unfollowed the football player on Instagram in April. Meanwhile, Steinfeld was last romantically linked to former One Direction member Niall Horan.