Overview
- Video of Kelce downing a can courtside while seated with fiancée Taylor Swift at the Cavs–Knicks game went viral after the May 23 appearance and showed Swift covering her face in the clip that circulated online.
- On the May 27 episode of New Heights Kelce called the moment a “classy chug,” said he didn’t spill a drop and said he drank to try to spark energy when the Cavs trailed in the fourth quarter.
- Kelce said the trip was a hometown date to show Swift his Cleveland roots and denied he was trying to convert her to Cleveland fandom, noting their history of attending sporting events together.
- The Cavaliers lost Game 3 to the Knicks and were swept in the series, ending the local sporting stakes tied to the courtside moment.
- The clip has produced wide social debate about celebrity optics and behavior, and reports that Kelce is set to become a minority owner of the Cleveland Guardians have intensified discussion about his public ties to Cleveland.