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Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce Each Made Surprise SNL Appearances On The Same Night

October 17, 2023

Topline

The premiere of the latest season of Saturday Night Live took on the most talked about rumored relationship in the country with a little help from the couple themselves, as both Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce made separate appearances on the sketch show this weekend after they were seen on a dinner date in New York City.

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift on October 14, 2023 in New York City.

WireImage

Key Facts

Kelce made his unannounced cameo in the opening sketch about the mania surrounding his rumored relationship with Swift through a parody of the Fox NFL Sunday team, where Kansas City Chiefs tight end joined a team of comedians posing as commentators Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson, Michael Strahan and Terry Bradshaw.

The panel mocked the media frenzy surrounding the couple, how commentators and the NFL have leaned into the madness and called the relationship “a way bigger deal than the Super Bowl” before Kelce appeared as a sideline sports reporter who “actually wants to talk football.”

Swift appeared later on in the show before the musical guest’s second song of the night with a very brief, four word introduction: “Once again, Ice Spice.”

Swift and Kelce were photographed holding hands after a dinner night at Nobu before the show and attended the SNL after party together—their first public display of affection since Swift attended her first Kansas City Chiefs game last month.

Big Number

6. That’s how many times Taylor Swift has been on SNL. She performed the 10-minute version of her song “All Too Well” in 2021, performed “…Ready for It?” and an acoustic version of “Call It What You Want” before the release of Reputation in 2017, made a brief appearance in a soap opera parody for the show’s 40th anniversary special in 2015, hosted the show in 2009 and made her debut earlier that same year as a musical guest.

Key Background

hiefs tight end from a suite with his friends and family. She cheered the pro-bowler on to his second touchdown of the season against the Chicago Bears while sitting with his mom, and has since attended a total of three Chiefs games. Her first appearance helped make the regular-season matchup one of the most-watched games of the football season so far and launched a frenzy of jokes, analyst comments and buy-in from brands. Kansas City’s Union Station lit up red the night of her first game and tweeted a photo with the caption: “‘How the (Chiefs) Kingdom lights shined just for me and you.’ This one’s for you @tkelce and @taylorswift13.” After someone posted a picture of Swift eating a chicken tender with “ketchup and seemingly Ranch” in the Chiefs’ box, Hidden Valley launched ‘seemingly ranch’ merchandise and Heinz said it would make limited-edition bottles of its Kranch condiment with the label “Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch.” The NFL changed the bio on its official X account to “NFL (Taylor’s Version).”

Crucial Quote

“They’re overdoing it,” Kelce said of the NFL’s response to his relationship on the New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce podcast. “I think they’re just trying to have fun with it.”

Tangent

Swift attended the Denver Broncos v. Kansas City Chiefs game Thursday, the night after the world premiere of her concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. The documentary-style concert film runs for 165 minutes and documents the first U.S. leg of the five-continent Eras Tour, which includes music from all 10 of her albums released over 17 years. The film grossed $39 million on Friday, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It has a 99% audience score and a 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.