Before Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s budding romance, the pop megastar was linked to Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Austin Reaves as a joke.
Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has been heavily linked to NFL player Travis Kelce in relationship rumors, and the two have been spotted out and about together several times. Before the beginning of the romance, Swift was connected in June with a basketball player to Austin Reavesbut that rumor turned out to be a runaway prank.
Behind the rumor was the social media designer of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team Zahin Fahimullahwho recently told Fox Sports in an interview about a prank that took on unexpected proportions.
During the early summer, romance rumors swirled between Swift and The 1975 singer Matty Healy around. Their trade of whipping quickly ended, but the breakup gave inspiration to Fahimullah, who started a new rumor on the messaging service X (formerly Twitter) through his fake account.
– After the breakup, Taylor Swift was spotted at an Arkansas bar over the weekend with Lakers star Austin Reaves, in a June 6 post from The Refrigerator account the post claimed.
The scam quickly took off. It got over four million views on X. The fake news was also copied to another entertainment news account, which garnered it seven million more impressions.
– I was amazed. I make a lot of memes, and I had put less effort into this than anything else. And this was the one that blew up, Fahimullah tells Fox Sports.
Unexpected proportions
Since Fahimullah works for the LA Clippers, the baseless rumor may have seemed like an attempt to get under the skin of a rival, Los Angeles Lakers star player Reaves. However, Fahimullah says it was just a joke.
– He just signed a four-year, $54 million contract. He goes to the US national team. Plus, the contrast between Austin Reaves and Taylor Swift makes it even funnier. Austin is a small town kid and Taylor Swift is a mega superstar. That’s probably why I chose him, Fahimullah explains.
Fahimullah didn’t think his joke would reach such proportions.
– I felt bad when it started blowing up and people started talking about it to Austin. He shouldn’t have to answer those questions. I felt really bad, says Fahimullah.
The story continues after the picture.
Taylor Swift was photographed on the red carpet at the opening night of The Eras Tour concert film on October 13 in Los Angeles. PDO
“I just started laughing”
After Fahimullah’s fake news, Reaves had to answer Swift-related questions in several podcasts and interviews. He was also teased about it in the group chat of the Los Angeles Lakers players. He remembers the moment when the fake news caught up with him.
– I just started laughing. I played cards with my brother, my best friend and my girlfriend.
– I told him [tyttöystävälle] “one night when you were sleeping I snuck out and went to a bar. He laughed it off and said he would have been more worried if I had gone to the golf course.
Reaves says it’s common knowledge in his circle that he doesn’t like bars. His brother said seeing Reaves at the bar was the most unrealistic part of the whole con.
The Taylor Swift effect
Although the relationship rumor fabricated by Fahimullah was nothing but a hoax, the Taylor Swift effect is not just a joke in the US.
Since Kansas City Chiefs inside linebacker Kelce was linked to Swift, Kelce’s Instagram followers have grown by a million. His jersey sales have increased nearly 400 percent and Chiefs games are currently the most popular among female viewers between the ages of 18 and 49.
Over the weekend, Swift and Kelce were seen holding hands in New York after Saturday Night Live reruns.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce walked hand-in-hand after the SNL reruns. PDO