NFL player Saquon Barkley is firmly in Taylor Swift’s corner — even when she’s rooting for an opposing team.
Appearing on “The Howard Stern Show” Wednesday, the Philadelphia Eagles running back defended Swift, saying the pop superstar didn’t deserve the chorus of boos she received when she appeared on a jumbotron at Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX between the Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.
“I don’t get it. I don’t get why she was getting hate there. She’s just there supporting her significant other,” said Barkley, alluding to Swift’s boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Swift has made frequent, much-buzzed-about appearances at Chiefs games across the U.S. ever since she and Kelce went public with their relationship in late 2023.
Kelce has certainly reciprocated the support, even turning up onstage during one of Swift’s Eras Tour concerts in London last year.
Watch a clip from Saquon Barkley’s “Howard Stern Show” chat below.
Some of the reaction to Swift’s presence at Chiefs games has leaned negative, with some fans and outlets questioning whether she’s become “a distraction” to the players.
In Barkley’s eyes, however, the NFL has only benefited from Swift’s interest.
“She’s made the game bigger,” he said. “In football we’re all about, ‘How can we expand the game and make it more [international]?’ We’re traveling to Brazil, we’re traveling to Mexico, and her being a part of it is only helping it. I don’t get the dislike she’s getting.”
The Super Bowl ended on a triumphant note for Barkley and his teammates, with the Eagles defeating the Chiefs 40-22. Since then, speculation on whether Kelce will return to the NFL next season has heated up, even though the player himself has insisted he’s “not making any crazy decisions” about his future just yet.
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Elsewhere in his chat with Stern, Barkley sounded off on a number of other celebrities and named actor Bradley Cooper ― a Pennsylvania native ― as edging out comedian Kevin Hart for his pick as Hollywood’s biggest Eagles fan.
“I think I’ve seen him at every home game, I’m not going to lie,” Barkley said of Cooper. “Kevin’s definitely a super fan, a big fan, too, so it’s hard to say. It’s probably 1A and 1B.”