By MAX WINTERS, US DEPUTY SPORTS EDITOR
Published: | Updated:
Taylor Swift fans are worried that controversial Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker could be invited, or even have a role in, her wedding to Travis Kelce.
The NFL’s most famous couple announced their engagement on Tuesday, the latest step in their whirlwind romance that started in the summer of 2023 and has seen two Super Bowls and the Eras Tour.
The singer, 35, announced the news in a shared Instagram post on Tuesday which showed them embracing in a garden filled with pink and white flowers. The pair captioned the post: ‘Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.’
It’s believed Kelce popped the question to Swift in the backyard of his $6million mansion in Leawood, Kansas. He famously purchased the home just one month after going public with his and Swift’s romance in September 2023.
Speculation on a possible date for the wedding has also set the internet ablaze, with Kelce about to enter possibly his final NFL season and Swift’s 13th album due to drop in October.
But one thing Swifties are already concerned about is the prospect of Butker being a guest for the festivities.
Taylor Swift fans are worried Harrison Butker could be invited to her wedding to Travis Kelce
Butker sparked fury last year with his divisive commencement speech at Benedictine College
The Chiefs kicker sparked fury last year with his divisive commencement speech at Benedictine College.
He suggested women should prioritize being stay-at-home moms and be ‘excited’ to become wives and mothers rather than successful professionals, criticized Joe Biden’s pro-abortion stance and hit out at the LGBTQ+ community.
A petition for the Chiefs to cut him from their roster received almost 250,000 signatures, while even some of his teammates – including Kelce and Patrick Mahomes – publicly admitted they do not share the same views.
Swifties have taken to social media to express their fury at the possibility of Butker being at their idol’s big day.
One commented: ‘Harrison Butker as a groomsman would hit Twitter like a nuclear missile’.
Another added: ‘No way Taylor would allow it. No way in hell.’
A third commented: ‘That’s never happening. Taylor Swift is not having an outright misogynist in her wedding party and I’d bet money he doesn’t even get invited.’
‘Taylor will float him a hard no,’ a fourth posted.
Swift and Kelce announced their engagement in a post that garnered millions of likes
While they distanced themselves from his opinions, Butker still received support from Kelce and Mahomes, along with Kansas City head coach Andy Reid.
All three defended the Chiefs kicker despite the fact they do not hold the same opinions.
‘I’ve known him for even plus years,’ Kelce stressed on his New Heights podcast at the time. ‘I cherish him as a teammate. I think Pat [Mahomes] said it best where he is every bit of a great person and a great teammate.’
‘I’ve known [Harrison] for seven years and I judge him by the character that he shows every single day. And that that’s a good person,’ said Mahomes.
‘A lot of guys had different opinions about it,’ Butker said at the Super Bowl, ‘but we all love each other in that locker room. We all know who we are.
‘All the guys understood where I was coming from. They respect me. They respect what I have to say. And I have nothing to apologize for.’