Travis Kelce Was ‘Shocked’ by Taylor Swift’s ‘Karma’ Lyric Change: ‘I Had No Clue’

Taylor Swift absolutely blew up the internet after her Saturday (Nov. 11) Buenos Aires, Argentina, Eras Tour show by changing her “Karma” lyrics to shout out her football star boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and now, Mr. Karma himself is opening up about the viral moment.

“Yeah no I had no clue [she would do that] … well, I might have had a little bit of a clue, but definitely when I heard it come out of her mouth, it still shocked me,” Kelce admitted on the latest episode of his New Heights podcast, which he co-hosts with brother Jason Kelce. “I was like, ‘Oh s–t, she really just said that.’”

Swift had altered the lyrics slightly to sing, “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me.” (The original line goes, “Karma is the guy on the screen coming straight home to me.)

The tight end was so surprised by the pop star’s gesture, in fact, that he completely missed that Swift’s father, Scott, who sported a Chiefs lanyard that night, was trying to give him a high-five. “Mr. Swift, I apologize, big guy. Oh man, I missed that,” he said, adding that he “persuaded” the patriarch, a longtime Eagles fan, to join Chiefs Nation after meeting him at dinner the night prior.

“I was enjoying myself down there in Buenos Aires,” Travis continued. “The show was even more electric knowing that I had a little bit more to enjoy it for and yeah. Taylor absolutely ripped it. She killed it. And it looked like she was having some fun up there.”

The Ohio native went on to give insider details about Swift’s decision to postpone her Friday (Nov. 10) show, which he had originally planned to attend, due to severe weather risks. “The entire stage is an LED screen, so, lightning and electronics don’t mesh very well,” he explained to his older brother, how is the Eagles’ center.

“She wasn’t too happy,” he continued. “She kind of prides herself on performing through weather or rain. But when it’s unsafe to her and her crew and everybody in the stadium, you gotta do what you gotta do.”

Kelce ended up attending Swift’s Saturday show, while her Friday show was rescheduled to Sunday. “I think it ended up being perfect,” the athlete said. “I was blown away. It was an electric crowd, too. And for everybody that went to those shows, Taylor was on record saying it was one of her favorite places to play. So hats off to you guys for showing the love.”

The day she announced her postponement, Swift picked up six Grammy nominations, including nods for album, song and record of the year. She’s also the lead finalist for the 2023 Billboard Music Awards, with nods in 20 categories. (Stream the BBMAs Sunday, Nov. 19, at BBMAs.watch, or via Billboard and the BBMAs’ social channels.)

Watch Travis Kelce talk about his time in Argentina on New Heights above.