“Travis Kelce can’t answer the phone right now. Why? Oh, he’s drunk!”
The athlete couldn’t console his partner Taylor Swift when he learned of the shooting incident at the parade celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory in February 2024.
The 36-year-old tight end was “overserved and lethargic” when the tragedy occurred — handing his cell phone to teammate Clyde Edwards-Helaire when he received a call from the panicked pop star, the Kansas City Star reported Friday.
Swift, who was in Australia on her Elas tour at the time, was woken up by her security team when the news broke.
Edwards-Helaire, 26, told the outlet that he called Swift after helping a teenage boy who had become separated from his family during the chaos.
The Grammy winner was told that Kelce was “ill but not injured.”
Representatives for Kelce, Swift and Edwards-Helaire did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
Later that day, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves confirmed that no NFL players were injured in the shooting.
One person, Lisa López Galván, was killed and 22 others sustained gunshot wounds.
Swift each made headlines for donating $100,000 to help the victims, and Kelce shared a link to the emergency response fund that week with listeners of the podcast “New Heights.”
He, Patrick Mahomes, and several teammates reportedly attended a pre-planned private dinner at Grand Falloon Restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri, on the night of the parade.
Kelsea flew to Singapore the following month to meet Swift as she continued her tour, and joined her on stage in London in June 2024, days before Edwards-Helaire and JoJo O’Connor’s wedding.
Swift flew the “Catch Kelsey” alum from Dublin to California for a wedding in Calabasas, then returned to Ireland for another show, even though the running back told Kelsey, “You don’t need that, bro.”
He said, “Are you smarter than celebrities?” The host replied, “No, Taylor’s already sent. That’s fine.”
Edwards-Helaire chimed in, saying, “That was one of the things that made her understand the relationship. She knows where everything stands.”
Notably, the songwriter called the couple to apologize for missing the ceremony.
Edwards-Helaire and O’Connor have been invited to Swift and Kelce’s wedding in Rhode Island on June 13, 2026.
Kelce proposed to the “Love Story” singer in August 2025 after two years of dating.
