Swifties weren’t “ready for it” when Travis Kelce made a surprise appearance during the Eras Tour last month.
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end was decked out in a three-piece tux and top hat for his onstage debut with his girlfriend, Taylor Swift, during her show at London’s Wembley Stadium on June 23.
The surprise quickly went viral and even made Swift “swoon,” according to her post on Instagram praising the Super Bowl champion.
It turns out the whole thing was Kelce’s idea!
During the Season 2 finale of his “New Heights” podcast, he revealed to his brother, Jason, that he initially pitched himself to be on stage.
“I initially mentioned it to Tay,” he said. “I was like, ‘How funny would it be if I just rolled out on one of the bikes during the ‘1989’ era?’”
He said Swift laughed at first then asked if he would be “up for doing something that like?”
Kelce said he’d “love to do that,” and from there, they went to work.
“I’ve seen the show enough. Might as well put me to work here,” he explained. “Sure enough, she found the perfect part of the show for me to come in.”
Taylor Swift is joined on stage by Travis Kelce (R), during “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at Wembley Stadium on June 23, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management )
Fast-forward to Kelce showing up onstage during the singer’s “Tortured Poets Department” era, where he brings her “back to life.” He encourages her to continue performing during a costume change segment right before she performs “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.”
He explained that he didn’t do the bike bit, joking it was due to safety concerns.
“There was no bike in case I ran into somebody else or hit one of the dancers or anything. It was the safest option.”
“It was the perfect time for me to go up there, just be a ham, have some fun not only with her but the crowd and try to get everybody excited for the rest of the show. It was awesome.”
The opportunity allowed him to live out a dream of his – perform the hilarious tap dance Jim Carrey performs in “Dumb and Dumber.”
“That’s one of my favorite moves of all time,” he laughed.
While he isn’t afraid of performing in front of big crowds, Kelce admitted that he had the help of “three professionals” on stage who helped him look just as professional.
“You can do no wrong when Taylor’s on stage,” he gushed.
Kelce also brough some of his football skills to the stage.
“The one thing I told myself is, ‘Do not drop the baby.’ Do not drop Taylor on your way over to this damn couch,” he laughed.
When Jason asked his little brother how the cheers for his appearance compared to those for a touchdown at Arrowhead Stadium, Travis said the Chiefs Kingdom cheers are “a little longer.”
He then recalled the moment Swifties realized it was him alongside Swift.
“When everyone found out that it was me, because it took a second for everybody to figure it out — that moment was pretty jarring. I was just like, ‘Oh s–t.’ And you don’t realize how big that damn stage is. It is easily as big as a football stadium in terms of length … it’s way bigger than I could have ever imagined,” he added. “But no, it was awesome. And I didn’t disappoint Taylor, so that’s all that really matters.”
He laughed telling his brother his two goals of the evening: “Do not f–k this up. Do not drop Taylor.”
So, will Kelce be surprising Swifties on any more Eras Tours stops?
“Who knows! It might not be the last time,” he teased. “You guys have to keep showing up to the Eras Tour to see if I pop out of the stage!”
