Who knew Taylor Swift and Caitlin Clark’s meetup at the Kansas City Chiefs playoff game would spark outrage? Probably anyone who followed the WNBA this year, TBH.
On January 18, the WNBA Rookie of the Year finally met Swift after attending multiple Eras Tour concerts and linking up with Travis Kelce on the New Heights podcast. Her appearance in Swift’s suite was a long time coming, with Clark loudly expressing her appreciation for the pop star since September 2023—around the same time Swift began dating the Kansas City Chief’s star tight end.
Back in December, Clark revealed Swift personally invited her to attend a Chiefs game in her Time Athlete of the Year profile—a promise Swift made a reality on January 18, 2025. During the Chiefs first playoff game against the Houston Texans, Swift and Clark were spotted in the same suite, even hugging when Kelce made a crucial touch down.
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Their hangout really bothered former Fox Sports host Skip Bayless, who is currently being sued by a former Fox Sports hairstylist for sexual harassment and battery. According to Front Office Sports, Bayless has been accused of using “his position to sexually harass women” and offering the plaintiff $1.5 million to have sex with him.
In a post on X.com, the 73-year-old wrote, “WAIT, CAITLIN CLARK IS UP IN THE ARROWHEAD BOX WITH TAYLOR SWIFT??? CAITLIN, YOU DON’T NEED TO BE SEEN WITH HER. YOU’RE BIGGER THAN SHE IS. JUST STAY ON YOUR OWN PATH.” Apparently, he was so enraged the post warranted all caps.
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Though Clark has yet to respond, plenty of X.com users came to her defense, with one writing, “Maybe focus on your lawsuit and stop bothering these two women.” Another asked, “You still allowed to talk about women in public?”
Of course, this is not the first time Caitlin Clark has faced backlash for her proximity to Taylor Swift. Back in September, the basketball star came under fire for just liking the pop star’s Instagram endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. At the time, Clark seemed unconcerned by the discourse, telling reporters she felt compelled to “encourage people to register to vote,” adding, “That’s the biggest thing I can do with the platform that I have, and that’s the same thing Taylor did.”
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This is not even the first time Clark enraged a former Fox talking head. Recently, Clark drew Megyn Kelly’s ire for acknowledging her white privilege in her interview with Time. “I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege,” she said at the time. “A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players. This league has kind of been built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s very important. I have to continue to try to change that.”
That was enough for Kelly to call her “condescending” and “fake” in an X.com post. “She’s on the knee all but apologizing for being white and getting attention,” Kelly wrote on December 10. “The self-flagellation. The ‘oh pls pay attention to the black players who are REALY the ones you want to celebrate.’ Condescending. Fake. Transparent. Sad.”
This certainly wasn’t a surprising take from Kelly, who was fired from her position at NBC for her comments on blackface in 2018.
Read moreCaitlin Clark Has the Perfect Response to Megyn Kelly Calling Her ‘Fake’
“I feel like I’ve always had a really good perspective on everything.”
If Clark was unbothered by the response to her Instagram activity, she was even less fussed about Kelly’s name-calling. “I feel like I’ve always had a really good perspective on everything that’s happened in my life, whether that’s been good or whether that’s been bad,” she said at the A Year In Time event on December 11. “Then obviously coming into the WNBA, like I’ve said, I feel like I’ve earned ever single thing that’s happened to me over the course of my career but also I grew up a fan of this league from a very young age like my favorite player was Maya Moore.”
“I know what this league was about and, like I said, it’s only been around 25 plus years so I know there’s been so many amazing Black women that have been in this league and continuing to up uplift them I think is very important,” Clark continued, “I try to just be real and authentic and share my truth and I think that’s very easy for me, like I’m very comfortable in my own skin and that’s kind of been how it is my entire life.”
She added, “I think my best skill is just blocking out the noise and hopefully it continues to be because with the way things are going, and where the WNBA is going, you want that attention and you embrace it and that’s what makes this so fun.”
Surely, Clark’s response to Bayless will be just as classy—if she bothers to dignify him with one at all.
Read moreA Complete Timeline of Caitlin Clark’s Friendship With Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
Swift seemed enchanted to meet Clark at the Chiefs game—and the moment was a long time coming.
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