A video of Taylor Swift and Jackson Mahomes hugging at the Super Bowl LVIII has gone viral—and people are praising Swift for quickly moving away.
Jackson Mahomes, who is the brother of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, is a social media influencer who was accused of sexual assault. He denied the allegations leveled against him. In January, the three felony charges of aggravated sexual battery were dismissed.
Jackson Mahomes was accused of grabbing a woman by the neck and kissing her against her will on February 25, 2023, at Aspens Restaurant and Lounge in a Kansas City suburb. He still faces one charge of misdemeanor battery. The accuser in that case is not the same as the one in the felony sexual battery case.
Now a clip posted to X, formerly Twitter, by @babyouremyqueen of the two briefly hugging each other after the Chiefs win has gone viral. “she couldnt have dipped faster,” the video was captioned, which at the time of writing had 4.9 million views.
In the clip, Swift can be seen talking to Travis Kelce’s mom, Donna Kelce, as they celebrate the win. Jackson Mahomes then taps Swift on the shoulder before they hug each other and the singer quickly walks off. Jackson Mahomes follows this by then hugging Donna Kelce.
People took to the comments to express how sorry they felt for Swift and to question why Jackson Mahomes was there in the first place.
Newsweek contacted Swift’s publicist via email and Jackson Mahomes via Instagram for comment Wednesday.
“lmao she really said get this man away from me,” one person commented.
Perry Knotts/Getty Images
“She was UNCOMFORTABLE… OH POOR TAY,” said another.
“the second hand embarrassment i just got,” someone else wrote.
“I don’t think a single Chiefs fan likes Jackson Mahomes. He is beyond cringe, even for us,” a fourth person said.
A fifth added: “Why is he even allowed at the games and stuff.”
While people online are critical of Jackson Mahomes, his sister-in-law Brittany Mahomes, has defended him in the past. She previously stuck up for him during a Q&A session on her Instagram stories back in April, in which she responded to someone asking how she feels about the comments people make about him.
“They are ignorant,” Brittany replied. “He is a human just trying to live his life and find his way and until you walk a day in his shoes (which no one ever will) you have no right to say s*** about him.”
Below her initial response, Brittany Mahomes added: “So it’s best to just shut up.”
Swift fans are shocked that the “Anti-Hero” singer would continue to be friends with Brittany Mahomes—whose friendship has blossomed in recent months—after these comments. This is because Swift won a high-profile lawsuit against a former radio host who allegedly groped her in 2013.
This court case is something Swift has spoken about while on stage, previously saying: “I guess I just think about all of the people who weren’t believed… or the people who are afraid to speak up because they think they won’t be believed.
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry to anyone who ever wasn’t believed because I don’t know what turn my life would have taken if people didn’t believe me when I said that something had happened to me.”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.