“Travis Kelce can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ’cause he’s drunk!”
The athlete was unable to comfort his partner, Taylor Swift, when she found out there had been a shooting at the February 2024 parade honoring the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win.
The tight end, 36, was “overserved and indisposed” when the tragedy occurred — and handed his phone to teammate Clyde Edwards-Helaire when the panicked pop star called, the Kansas City Star reported Friday.
Swift, who was in Australia on her Eras Tour at the time, had been awoken by her security team when news broke.
Edwards-Helaire, 26, told the outlet that after helping a teenager who had been separated from his family in the turmoil, he called Swift.
The Grammy winner was told that Kelce was “ill but unhurt.”
Reps for Kelce, Swift and Edwards-Helaire did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
Later that same day, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves confirmed that no NFL players had been injured in the shooting.
One individual, Lisa Lopez-Galvan, died, while 22 others sustained gunshot wounds.
Swift each made headlines for donating $100,000 to help victims, and Kelce shared links for an emergency response fund with his “New Heights” podcast listeners that week.
He, Patrick Mahomes and several of their teammates reportedly attended a private pre-planned dinner the evening of the parade at the Granfalloon Restaurant in Kansas City, Mo.
Kelce flew to Singapore the following month to see Swift as she continued touring — and joined her onstage in London in June 2024, days ahead of Edwards-Helaire’s wedding to JoJo O’Connor.
Swift flew the “Catching Kelce” alum from Dublin to California for the Calabasas nuptials — and then back to Ireland for another show — despite the running back telling Kelce, “Bro, you don’t have to.”
He said the “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?” host replied, “Nah, Taylor’s already sending me. It’s good.”
Edwards-Helaire gushed, “It was one of those things where she understood the relationship. She knows where everything stands.”
The songwriter, notably, called the couple to apologize for missing the ceremony.
Edwards-Helaire and O’Connor have been invited to Swift and Kelce’s upcoming wedding on June 13, 2026, in Rhode Island.
Kelce proposed to the “Love Story” singer in August 2025 after two years of dating.
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