Travis Kelce Felt ‘Tortured’ All Week After His 'Nonsense' Old Tweets Went Viral on Social Media

This week, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce found himself in the center of a Twitter storm after Swifties discovered tweets from his past, dating from 2009 to 2011. The resurfaced tweets, which ranged from amusing observations to controversial remarks, sparked a social media frenzy. While Kelce referred to the situation as "torture," the media's reaction to the controversial tweets has been different.

The NFL star became the center of attention off the field when Taylor Swift fans discovered a series of his old tweets. Among these tweets, one from 2011 caught Kelce's attention, saying, "I just gave a squire a piece of bread and it straight smashed all of it!!!! I had no idea they ate bread like that!! Haha #crazy." Another one that the star didn't address, in which he commented on plus-size women, read, "As a man, You have something wrong with you if you're going for girls that weigh more than you!! [sic]"

Another tweet from the same period made fun of people who are overweight, writing, "Haha when fat people fall, it's like slow motion entertainment, cuz they never JUST fall, they always tumble n gradually hit the deck #comedy." These tweets sparked a heated debate on social media.

The football star addressed a few of the resurfaced tweets on his podcast, New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, along with his brother Jason, per People. Travis acknowledged the amusement of some of his older tweets, even praising Jimmy Fallon's rendition of a song composed entirely of his tweets on The Tonight Show. He later added, "This is why I don’t tweet anymore because this is just nonsense."

Travis reflected on his use of Twitter as a diary during his college years, emphasizing that he was unprepared for the level of public scrutiny that would follow. Despite admitting to trying to have these posts removed since joining the NFL in 2013, Kelce felt "tortured" by all the recent reactions.

Sandra Rose reported that mainstream media outlets rushed to Travis Kelce's defense, downplaying the troubling aspects of his previous tweets. Sports Illustrated called Kelce's fat-shaming tweets "wholesome," while NBC News said Taylor Swift's fans supported the football player. People Magazine even titled an article, "Taylor Swift Fans Resurface Travis Kelce’s Wholesome Old Tweets."

The Kansas City Star dismissed Kelce's tweets as controversial, emphasizing that Swifties, still adored him. The New York Times, on the other hand, took a more critical stance, acknowledging both Swifties' delight and recoil in response to Kelce's old tweets.

Some media outlets' defense of Travis Kelce raises concerns about the normalization of harmful language, particularly when directed at marginalized groups. The tweets in question reinforce harmful stereotypes about body weight, contributing to a culture that marginalizes people based on their appearance. While some argue that Kelce's tweets should be forgiven because of his age at the time of writing, it is critical to recognize the long-term impact of such remarks.