Father shares poignant message to men criticising Taylor Swift

‘Keep in mind, Taylor Swift’s not gonna see or hear any of that,’ father reminds people who’ve critcised singer on TikTok

A father has shared a poignant message to men who’ve been criticising Taylor Swift amid her relationship with Travis Kelce.

Robert People shared a video to TikTok earlier this week to defend Swift. His video came as Swift has continued to make headlines for her appearances at Kelce’s NFL games, after the pair started dating last summer. Fans have also been speculating that she’ll be attending the Super Bowl, where the Kansas City Chiefs will play against the San Francisco 49ers.

In his video, People hit back at all the unkind comments that Swift has received, specifically from men and football fans. He also reminded men that their harsh criticism of the pop star could be something that affects their children.

“For those of you people out there, especially grown men, expressing all this nasty, ridiculous hate for Taylor Swift just for existing and supporting her boyfriend in the NFL, keep in mind, Taylor Swift’s not gonna see or hear any of that,” he said. “But you know who will? Your daughters.”

He went on to specify that because of that criticism, young girls who like Swift could end up feeling less confident in themselves.

“And with all this juvenile hate you’re showing Taylor Swift for simply being there, you’re encouraging your daughters to shrink themselves, reduce who they are,” he continued. “Because if they do anything more than that, if they just decide to be themselves, they’re gonna get a whole lot of hate from not only the world but from people just like you: their own parents.”

He concluded: “We need to do better, straight up.”

The video has quickly gone viral on TikTok, with more than 1m views. In the comments, many viewers encouraged people to stop criticising Swift, while also explaining how men in their lives have found enjoyment in seeing the “Anti-Hero” singer at football games.

“Taylor Swift hate is just targeted misogyny poorly disguised as pop culture critique,” one wrote.

“My husband loves that my five-year-old son is like ‘look it’s Taylor swift she sings my favourite songs!’ while he’s watching the game. Gives them a way to connect and enjoy the game together,” another wrote.

A third shared:” My dad doesn’t get into pop culture. As a football fan, he FaceTimed me & said ‘hey did you see your girl on TV?’”

In a follow-up video, People replied to a person saying that their daughter doesn’t listen to Swift’s music, with the TikToker expressing that this comment wasn’t relevant to his initial point. “I don’t listen to Taylor Swift. My daughter doesn’t listen to Taylor Swift,” he said. “What does that have to do with men, mostly men being nasty and foul and threatening and all this toward Taylor Swift when they’re watching football.”

After emphasising that celebrities won’t hear the criticism the people post about them, he again explained that children will notice it. He also addressed how boys could be affected by their parents’ criticism of Swift.

“Young boys are going to hear how you address these women celebrities and they’re going to say: ‘Oh, my dad is doing it. That’s how I need to handle it. That’s how I should go about my business,’” he explained. “And your girls are looking at it and saying: ‘Yup that’s how my dad talks about women, so this is what my dad’s going to think of me if I wasn’t his daughter.’”

Speaking to Today, People, who has a 16-year-old daughter, explained that the hatred towards Swift is a bigger issue, beyond just football fans who are annoyed by her presence at NFL games.

“It’s wrong to treat anyone this way,” he said. “If you don’t know much about her, then don’t say anything. She’s a human being and people reduce her humanity.”

The Independent has contacted People for comment.

Since Swift and Kelce began dating last year, the singer has been heavily publicised by the NFL, as she’s attended 12 of her boyfriend’s games. During a game at Gillette Stadium in December, the jumbotron screen captured Swift, prompting NFL fans in the stands to boo in response. However, she appeared to brush off the negative reaction by resting her chin on her hand. She then sarcastically gave her haters an air kiss before she turned to friend Brittany Mahomes and shrugged.

Kelce later defended his girlfriend from the onslaught of boos she received during an episode of his New Heights podcast. “I’ll say this - they showed Taylor at the game,” Kelce recalled at the time. “And I mean, you don’t see an entire home team fan base go insane for somebody wearing the opposite team’s colours. Just shows you how amazing that girl is. They went absolutely insane when they showed Taylor on the screen, yes.”

Last month, Kelce also revealed how he and his girlfriend have handled the constant attention since going public with their relationship last year. “The only thing we’ve talked about is as long as we’re happy, we can’t listen to anything that’s outside noise,” he said during a press conference on 26 January. “That’s all that matters.”