Taylor Swift’s worlds collided (literally) at the Kansas City Chiefs vs New Orleans Saints game on Monday, October 7.
Saints defensive tackle Khalen Saunders — the brother of Swift’s Eras Tour dancer Kameron Saunders — tackled Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, during the game and prevented him from scoring a touchdown. Khalen, 28, then intercepted a pass from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“That’s my backup dancer’s brother,” Swift appeared to tell someone after the big play in her Arrowhead Stadium suite in a clip from the game shared via X.
The connection between Swift and Saunders made waves all over social media. Former NFL star J.J. Watt, for his part, shared a funny reaction while watching the game at home with his wife, Kealia Watt.
“Taylor Swift’s backup dancer’s brother Khalen Saunders just tackled her boyfriend Travis Kelce to stop him from scoring a touchdown. On the next play, he intercepted Patrick Mahomes in the end zone.’ Did not anticipate explaining that to Kealia when she walked down the stairs,” he joked via X while recalling the game’s coverage.
While Kameron, 32, previously shared the Eras Tour stage with Kelce in London in June, the dancer supported his brother during Monday’s game. On his Instagram Story, Kameron shared a sweet snap of himself and a Chiefs fan who made a sign that read, “Travis, I don’t know about you, but I’m here for Kam & Taylor too!”
“that’s my backup dancer’s brother” omg 😭😭 https://t.co/emS76nJrlZ
— kenz (@ohsohighschool) October 8, 2024
He also reacted to Khalen’s interception from Mahomes, 29, captioning a pic of the field from the stands, “PERIOD!!!!! Play of the game!! The big boy/d-lineman running the ball!!!!!! 💅🏾.”
Days before, Khalen responded to reporter questions about who Kameron would support during Monday’s game. “Me, of course,” he quipped in an X clip shared on Thursday, October 3. “He don’t care about the Chiefs. He cares about his brother. [Taylor is] his boss, but I’m his brother. I was here first.” (Khalen previously played alongside Kelce for the Chiefs from 2019 to 2022. The Saints lost 26-13 to the Chiefs on Monday.)
Kameron has been traveling with Swift on the Eras Tour since March 2023. After taking some time off, the tour will resume in Miami on October 18.
Earlier this year, Khalen gushed about his brother and former teammate after Kelce surprised fans on stage at Wembley Stadium. “Just a couple of the Bros 🥹 That boy T-soul was made for this 😂,” he wrote alongside an X clip of Kelce’s The Tortured Poets Department set performance. “@tkelce x Big Bro And @taylorswift13 let me get an audition for the next tour 😂❤️ #ProudBrother 🤞🏾.”
Kelce returned the sentiment in the comments of Kameron’s Instagram post about the convert. “Kam! The Saunders brothers were already my favorites,” he commented on the June 25 upload. “From winning super bowls with Sir Bink @khalennotkaylen to having fun bringing Tay back to life on the stage with you the other night…. and even hanging with Mama Saunders.”
