Top line
Pop superstar Taylor Swift’s relationship with NFL tight end Travis Kelce, which has spawned millions of memes, suddenly seemed in jeopardy this week after a document purporting to be from one of Kelce’s agents circulated on social media claiming the couple were on the verge of splitting up – but now it appears to be an elaborate prank.
Travis Kelce kisses Taylor Swift after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime during … (+)
Key data
A document titled “Travis Kelce’s Comprehensive Media Plan for Public Relations Following Breakup with Taylor Swift” by Full Scope PR initially went viral on Reddit before spreading to other social media sites earlier this week.
The multi-page PR plan is intended to be the blueprint for Kelce’s public statement and raises hopes of “managing and mitigating the consequences of the separation between Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, ensuring that Travis Kelce maintains a positive public image, minimizes negative media portrayals, and continues to build his personal and professional brand.”
The document states that Kelce’s team plans to announce the split in an official statement on September 28, “three days after the split, to allow the initial media hype to die down and clarity to prevail.”
The plan includes a sample statement, says Kelce will give select interviews with media outlets such as ESPN, Vanity Fair and People Magazine, and includes talking points such as emphasizing “his respect for Taylor Swift and the mutual decision to part ways.”
However, Full Scope PR says no one working for the agency had anything to do with the document and that the company’s legal department is investigating who illegally used the agency’s logo and posed as an employee of the firm. The original Reddit page where the post was shared has since been deleted.
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Important background
Kelce and Swift were publicly linked last September after Swift appeared at a Kansas City Chiefs game to cheer on the tight end. Kelce first hinted that he was interested in Swift in July on his popular podcast “New Heights,” where he admitted he made a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it to give to Swift after she saw an Eras Tour performance. Fans viewed Swift’s September appearance — in which she watched from a suite next to Kelce’s mother, Donna, and drove away with Kelce in a convertible — as confirmation of the dating rumors. The appearance sparked a media frenzy that led to the NFL itself capitalizing on it by making jokes online, branding Kelce/Swift-related merchandise, and skyrocketing viewership at league games. Since then, Swift has attended a handful of other Chiefs games (including the Super Bowl in Las Vegas), Kelce has been spotted at their Eras tour shows abroad (including a stage appearance at Wembley Stadium in London), and they have been seen on dates all over the world.
What you should pay attention to
Whether Swift will be at the Chiefs’ first game of the new season. The Baltimore Ravens play the NFL’s opening game on Thursday at 8:20 p.m. EDT at Arrowhead Stadium.
tangent
Kelce’s fame has skyrocketed over the past year thanks to high-profile branding deals with Pfizer, Experian and Campbell Soup, the release of a documentary about his brother Travis called “Kelce” and, of course, his public relationship with Swift. Kelce, who has played his entire career for the Kansas City Chiefs, has made big moves into branding and acting over the past year, while also securing some big-name endorsement deals. In October, he made an unannounced cameo in the opening sketch of “Saturday Night Live” about the mania surrounding his relationship with Swift, and in May, he announced he had landed his first-ever acting role in the FX series “Grotesquerie.” Last month, it was announced that he would star in a Lionsgate action comedy called “Loose Cannons” and make a cameo in the film “Happy Gilmore 2.”
Large number
100 million dollars. That is the estimated value of the podcast deal the Kelce brothers announced last week with Amazon’s Wondery.
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