Taylor Swift fans have hit out at comedian Tony Hinchcliffe after he called Travis Kelce the “next O.J. Simpson” at a recent Donald Trump rally.
Hinchcliffe delivered a controversial speech at a Presidential campaign event at Madison Square Garden in New York City last Sunday (October 27).
READ MORE: Taylor Swift live in Edinburgh: The ‘Eras Tour’ finally hits the UK
According to Billboard, he made numerous derogatory remarks about figures from the music world, as well as Puerto Rico, the Latin community, Black people, Jewish people, and Palestinians.
“I don’t know about you, but I think that Travis Kelce might be the next O.J. Simpson,” Hinchcliffe said at one point in his speech about Swift’s current boyfriend – who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL.
Former NFL player Simpson, who died in April aged 76, was charged in 1994 with murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. The lengthy high-profile trial led to Simpson’s acquittal in 1995.
That racist comedian’s jokes were so disgustingly racist and vile that the #swifties haven’t caught wind about the fact that he made a joke about Travis Kelce being the next OJ Simpson, implying he will k*ll Taylor Swift, and everyone laughed. pic.twitter.com/Z23sBEfeEi
— susie (@susielujano) October 28, 2024
However, he was deemed liable for the deaths in a civil suit brought by the victims’ families three years later.
In response to Hinchcliffe’s bizarre comment about Kelce, Swifties have taken to social media to condemn the comedian.
One fan wrote: “Are we going to talk about the Tony guy at Trump’s rally saying Travis might be the next OJ Simpson?? Like is he implying Travis should kill Taylor Swift? Is there some context I’m missing here or something???”
Another person called the remark “utterly offensive”, claiming that Hinchcliffe was “implying” Kelce could “harm Taylor Swift”.
Someone else said: “That racist comedian’s jokes were so disgustingly racist and vile that the #swifties haven’t caught wind about the fact that he made a joke about Travis Kelce being the next OJ Simpson, implying he will k*ll Taylor Swift.”
Elsewhere, a Swiftie wrote: “The joke about Travis Kelce being the next OJ Simpson is actually about the belief women who speak out of turn are deserving of public humiliation and femicide.”
Another X/Twitter user responded: “The OJ reference is in really poor taste. The guy brutally murdered his wife and her friend. To imply that Travis Kelce could become like that is just sick. Not funny.”
You can see a selection of posts below.
Are we going to talk about the Tony guy at Trumps rally saying Travis might be the next OJ Simpson?? Like is he implying Travis should kill Taylor Swift? Is there some context I’m missing here or something???
— Black Queen (@Melaninqueen202) October 28, 2024
Did you catch the reference to Travis Kelce during Tony Hinchcliffe’s ‘comedy’ routine? implying that Travis Kelce would become the next OJ Simpson and harm Taylor Swift? How utterly offensive.
— Beth Fuller (@mystiknitter) October 28, 2024
the joke about travis kelce being the next OJ simpson is actually about the belief women who speak out of turn are deserving of public humiliation and femicide
— she/her (@taywitchery) October 27, 2024
The PR comments are getting a lot of attention as well they should.
But also can we talk about: the guy literally joked about Taylor Swift. Being killed. By her boyfriend.
Horrifying … and also I dunno maybe further motivates the swiftie vote because … what a joke (“joke”).
— Danielle Kurtzleben (@titonka) October 28, 2024
This dork at the Trump rally just said Travis Kelce would be the next OJ Simpson and made a joke about carving watermellons
Who are these people? pic.twitter.com/TO63Yt5go8
— Noble Prize in Sarcasm (@rewegreatyet) October 27, 2024
The OJ reference is in really poor taste. The guy brutally murdered his wife and her friend.
To imply that Travis Kelce could become like that is just sick. Not funny.
— Flyover Zone Patriot (@SharkeyTim) October 27, 2024
The “Puerto Rico is a garbage island” guy also “joked” that he thought “Travis Kelce might be the next OJ Simpson.”
— Philip Bump (@pbump) October 28, 2024
Hey gang, just a quick moment to say a big to that one dude (I’m not bothering to know his name) who said Travis Kelce is going to be the next OJ Simpson?? What the actual fuck?? Can someone check this man’s house??
— Chelley (@chelleywrites) October 28, 2024
they’re so mad about the swift endorsement so they joke about her ending up like nicole brown simpson? it’s not “comedy” it’s just vile. this dude tried to be funny and none of his “jokes” were anything but nasty and degrading
— bailey (@saadandbad) October 28, 2024
Opening speaker at MSG rally, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe — jokes included calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and saying “Travis Kelce might be the next OJ Simpson.”
— Danielle Kurtzleben (@titonka) October 27, 2024
wait obviously the toxic virulent racism is far worse, but the insane trump n*zi comedian ALSO said that travis kelce was going to be the next oj simpson?????
— April Glick Pulito ⸆⸉ (@aprilglick) October 28, 2024
The Trump campaign has distanced itself from Hinchcliffe controversially referring to Puerto Rico as “a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean”.
The comedian hosts the live podcast Kill Tony, and has been a member of the writing team on the Comedy Central Roast series. In 2016, his one-hour stand-up special One Shot was released on Netflix.
Swift officially endorsed VP Kamala Harris’ presidential candidacy last month. The pop star said the Democratic candidate “fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them”.
She continued: “I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
Harris later said she was “very proud to have the support” of Swift. “She’s an incredible artist,” she added. “I really respect the courage that she has had in her career to stand up for what she believes is right.”
Shortly after Swift endorsed Harris, Trump wrote on his Truth Social account: “I hate Taylor Swift.” The former POTUS and current Republican nominee had said earlier that Swift would “probably pay a price” for backing Harris.
He continued: “It was just a question of time. She couldn’t possibly endorse Biden… But she’s a very liberal person. She seems to always endorse a Democrat, and she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace.”
Back in August, Trump addressed the controversy around the AI images of Swift endorsing his campaign, claiming: “I didn’t generate them.”
Earlier this year, Trump responded to claims that Joe Biden was seeking endorsement from Swift and claimed he made the singer “so much money”. He also said he was fond of her partner Kelce – “even though he may be a Liberal, and probably can’t stand me!”.
Trump had also previously released a t-shirt that was designed very similarly to Swift‘s ‘Eras Tour’ merch.
In other news, it has been reported that Ivanka Trump attended one of the star’s recent ‘Eras Tour’ shows – despite her father’s views.
Trump described Swift as “unusually beautiful” over the summer, and questioned whether her political stance was “just an act”. “It surprises me that a country star can be successful being liberal,” he said at the time.
The 2024 US Presidential election is due to take place next Tuesday (November 5).
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