“Travis Kelce can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ’cause he’s drunk!”
The athlete was unavailable to console his partner, Taylor Swift, when she learned of a shooting during the February 2024 Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade. At the time, the 36-year-old tight end was intoxicated and passed his phone to teammate Clyde Edwards-Helaire when Swift called in distress, according to the Kansas City Star.
Swift, who was touring in Australia, had been awakened by her security team after news of the tragedy broke. Edwards-Helaire, 26, later contacted Swift to explain that Kelce was unharmed but “ill.” Representatives for Kelce, Swift, and Edwards-Helaire did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves later confirmed no NFL players were injured, though one person, Lisa Lopez-Galvan, was killed, and 22 others were wounded by gunfire. Both Swift and Kelce donated $100,000 to support victims, with Kelce also sharing emergency fund links on his New Heights podcast.
That evening, Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, and other teammates reportedly attended a pre-planned dinner at Kansas City’s Granfalloon Restaurant. The following month, Kelce visited Swift in Singapore during her tour. In June 2024, he joined her onstage in London just before Edwards-Helaire’s wedding to JoJo O’Connor. Swift arranged for Edwards-Helaire’s flights between Dublin, California, and Ireland to accommodate the wedding and her tour schedule, despite his insistence it wasn’t necessary. Kelce explained, “Taylor’s already sending me. It’s good.”
Edwards-Helaire praised Swift’s understanding of their friendship, noting, “She knew where everything stands.” Though Swift apologized for missing the ceremony, she and Kelce invited Edwards-Helaire and O’Connor to their own upcoming wedding on June 13, 2026, in Rhode Island. Kelce proposed to Swift in August 2025 after two years of dating.