Charles Barkley has a pointed message for Taylor Swift’s NFL haters.
“If you’re screaming at T-Swift saying she ruined [football], you’re just a loser. You’re just a loser or a jackass,” the former NBA star, 60, said during Wednesday’s episode of his “King Charles” show with Gayle King.
“You can be A or B. One of the two.”
Their guest, sports commentator Bob Costas, also chimed in to add that the “Cruel Summer” songstress has brought a whole new audience to football since going public with her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce last year.
“Look at all the new people she’s brought to the NFL. You see young teen girls who are now watching football for the first time,” King, 69, agreed.
Costas, 71, also speculated that Swift’s presence at Super Bowl 2024 could even increase the sporting event’s already high ratings when the Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11.
“The NFL reigns supreme — not only over sports — but over all of American entertainment. … It’s the only thing that consistently aggregates huge audiences,” he said.
“Like 90 of the top 100 rated television shows in a given year are football games — almost all of them NFL games. And so you would think they couldn’t improve on that, but now they’ve tapped into another demographic.”
Page Six exclusively reported that Swift — who has been attending Chiefs’ games since September 2023 — is expected to make an appearance at the Super Bowl despite her scheduled Eras Tour performance in Japan the day before.
The 12-time Grammy winner’s recurring presence at Kelce’s games this season has stirred up controversy among some NFL fans, who have been frustrated with TV cameras frequently featuring her during the broadcasts.
Amid the backlash, Swift, 34, explained in her Time Person of the Year interview that she doesn’t control how much screen time she gets.
“I’m just there to support Travis,” the “Bad Blood” songstress said in December 2023. “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads.”
In addition to Barkley, other celebrities have also come to Swift’s defense, however the hitmaker isn’t afraid to stand up for herself.
On Sunday, clapped back at a Baltimore Ravens fan who yelled that she “ruined the NFL,” simply responding, “I didn’t do anything.”
