2 weeks ago
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EVERYONE was on Jason Kelce‘s side with this fan interaction… until he did one thing. In case you haven’t seen…
The New Heights co-host was at Penn State on Saturday for the game against Ohio State. While walking on the campus, a crowd started to gather around the retired Philadelphia Eagles center to cheer him on, with many looking to get a fist bump from the local legend. However, one troll took terrible internet behavior to the streets, following Jason with a phone while spewing a homophobic slur directed at his brother Travis Kelce for dating Taylor Swift. Yeah. One of those.
Related: What Taylor Thought Of Travis’ Controversial Sex Talk!
In multiple viral videos of the incident posted on X (Twitter), the so-called fan can be heard yelling:
“Kelce — how does it feel that your brother is a f***** for dating Taylor Swift?”
Jason surprised the troll by getting physical. He turned around with those all-star reflexes, snatched the phone, and SLAMMED it on the ground! Then he picked it up off the ground and kept walking. Watch (below):
Jason Kelce slams phone of guy who shouted “How does it feel that your brother is a f****t for dating Taylor Swift?” at him.
pic.twitter.com/0tiLNEcG4p
— Pop Base (@PopBase) November 2, 2024
Jason Kelce moved faster than any man his antagonist has ever seen in the flesh. That it didn’t go worse is an act of mercy.
Never pick a fight with a hall of fame center. pic.twitter.com/HezggScX3K
— Jed Dawson (@TheRealJed) November 2, 2024
But that wasn’t the end of it.
The fan ran up to him demanding his phone. Jason, who had been holding an open can of beer and an entire 12-pack in his other hand the whole time, put down the phone and faced the kid. And this is where he lost some support, because he repeated the slur aloud, demanding:
“Who’s the f***** now?”
Jason Kelce hit him with the cleanest “who’s the f****t now?” These eyes have ever seen pic.twitter.com/XpbDBGThd6
— Joe Pop (@JoePops_) November 2, 2024
Now, two days later Jason was back on live TV, doing his Monday Night Football broadcast — covering his brother’s game, as it turns out. Naturally, with this thing going so viral, ESPN couldn’t just ignore it. So before the game coverage could begin, Jason took a moment to address what happened, saying:
“Listen, I’m not happy with anything that took place. I’m not proud of it. In a heated moment, I chose to greet hate with hate and I just don’t think that’s a productive thing. I really don’t. I don’t think that it leads to discourse and it’s the right way to go about things. In that moment I fell down to a level that I shouldn’t have. So, I think the bottom line is, I try to live my life by the Golden Rules. That’s what I’ve always been taught. I try to treat people with common decency and respect, and I’m going to keep doing that moving forward… I fell short this week.”
See his comments (below):
It’s not technically an apology. Not that anyone really thinks the troll deserves one here, smashed phone or no. The thing is, there isn’t even a consensus on whether he owes the LGBTQ+ community an apology!
See, we’ve obviously heard a lot of folks offended that Jason repeated the F-bomb…
“you mean jason kelce said the f slur THREE times? and yall are cool with it? if you even THINK about defending this man you’re disgusting”
“You were VERY comfortable throwing that slur around. There’s no way in hell that was an isolated incident. F**k you and your bulls**t PR apology @JasonKelce”
“jason kelce saying the f slur back multiple times is so embarrassing like he’s no better than the guy who said it first and being that enraged by someone calling u gay in 2024 is crazy”
“Jason Kelce used the f-slur back at the guy whose phone he smashed btw. “Who’s the [f-slur] now?” on video. So no, I cannot defend that man’s actions. As usual.”
“no way i’m seeing SWIFTIES of all people giving jason kelce a f slur pass. idgaf if the other guy started it! jason saying “who’s the f***** now” is using the slur as a slur, it’s derogatory, saying that reinforces that being a f***** is a bad thing, that being gay is a bad thing”
“listen. i love jason kelce. but people saying “he has nothing to apologize for”?? first of all, he didn’t apologize. second of all, he absolutely should apologize to the lgbtqia community for using a slur and insinuating being gay is a negative thing.”
However, there were a LOT of voices on Gay Twitter saying he was NOT in the wrong because of the context. While many thought he was calling the kid the slur back, others thought he was confronting the homophobia, saying, “Say it to my face”:
“the queer community forgives jason kelce.”
“jason kelce can be a honorary f** for his service to the bear community”
“jason kelce fought for bear rights he’s allowed to say it… no more discourse”
“Jason Kelce not putting up with homophobia. Am I the only one who doesn’t see a problem with his response ?”
“Hell YES. I’m under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, and Jason Kelce whipping a slur right back at the AH who said it about his brother is a righteous act. #KnowYourAllies”
“Republicans have been banging my LGBTQ+ sistas for decades. Jason Kelce has been an ally for years. A few days ago he got the “f*****” pass. We love him!”
“Jason Kelce’s reaction to the heckler was not an attempt to normalize the offensive slur used against his brother. Instead, he confronted the individual by seizing and smashing their phone, directly addressing the person who was bullying him. This action served as a forceful repudiation of the derogatory remark, emphasizing that such language is unacceptable.”
We want to hear from our LGBTQ+ readers! Let us know what YOU think!
Was Jason in the right? Calling out homophobia as an ally — if perhaps in a clumsy way? Or was he just upset about being called the f-word because that’s still seen as such a negative in his masculine world? Give us your thoughts in the comments (below)!
To learn more about how you can help the LGBTQ+ community, check out https://www.glaad.org/.
[Image via ESPN/NFL/Kansas City Chiefs/YouTube.]
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