Did Travis Kelce announce his support for Kamala Harris' presidential candidacy in late September 2024 after his girlfriend Taylor Swift did the same? No, that's not true: This claim first appeared on a website that says it "specializes in satire, parody, and humor" and that "nothing on this website is real." No credible news websites have reported that Kelce made any such announcement.
The claim appeared in an article (archived here) titled "Following Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce Also Endorses Harris: 'Taylor Made the Right Choice'" on the Esspots.com website on September 14, 2024. It began:
In a move that has left both sports fans and political analysts scratching their heads, NFL star Travis Kelce has followed in the footsteps of his rumored girlfriend Taylor Swift by endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential election. In a surprising public statement, Kelce declared, 'Taylor made the right choice, and I stand with her.' This unexpected endorsement has thrown yet another curveball into an already bizarre election season and given the internet exactly what it craves: more celebrity-political crossovers.
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
(Source: Esspots screenshot taken on Thu Sept. 26 17:01:39 2024 UTC)
This article did not cite any credible sources that could substantiate this claim.
The description on the About Us page (archived here) of the Esspots website reads, in part:
Welcome to the US page of Esspots (A Subsidiary of SpaceXMania.com specializing in Satire and Parody News), your one-stop destination for satirical news and commentary about the United States of America.
SpaceXMania.com is also a satire website.
The description (archived here) underneath the disclaimer tab on the Esspots website says:
Welcome to Esspots.com, a website that specializes in satire, parody, and humor. Before you proceed to read our content, we would like to emphasize that nothing on this website is real. All of the articles, stories, and commentary found on Esspots.com are entirely fictitious and created for the purpose of entertainment only.
A September 11, 2024, Daily Mail Online article (archived here) titled, "Travis Kelce to make bombshell election announcement 'very soon' after girlfriend, Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris," reported that an unnamed "insider" had said that Kansas City Chiefs tight end Kelce is "set" to follow Taylor Swift and endorse Vice President Harris, the Democratic nominee for president. But, as of the date of this fact check's publication, no evidence exists that Kelce has made such an announcement.
Using keywords from the Esspots article, Lead Stories searched (archived here) on Google News and found no credible documents or reporting to confirm this claim.
At the time this was written, Check Your Fact had reviewed the same claim.
Lead Stories contacted Kelce's representatives for a statement on the validity of the Esspots claim. This fact check will be updated as appropriate if a response is received.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks mentioning Travis Kelce and the Esspots website can be found here and here. Additional Lead Stories fact checks mentioning Spacexmania.com can be read here.
