Saquon Barkley Sent Stern Message to Eagles Fans Who Booed Taylor Swift at Super Bowl

Barkley defended Swift after the pop star was loudly booed at the Caesars Superdome during Super Bowl LIX.
Barkley during a press conference before Super Bowl LIX.
Barkley during a press conference before Super Bowl LIX. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show on SiriusXM Radio, defended 14-time Grammy award-winner Taylor Swift after the pop star was loudly booed when she was shown on the videoboards at the Caesars Superdome during Super Bowl LIX.

Stern asked Barkley if he thought Swift, who is dating Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce, would be getting engaged to the Chiefs pass-catcher. The Eagles halfback didn't have any strong thoughts on that topic, but he certainly did have a few on Swift getting booed, as he told Stern he "couldn't understand" why she received such a negative reception from what appeared to be Eagles fans.

"I remember that they showed her on the jumbotron, and she got booed. I don't get it. I don't get why she was getting hate there," Barkley said. "She was there supporting her significant other, and she's made the game bigger."

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"In football we're all about, 'How can we expand the game and make it more [international]?' We're traveling to Brazil, we're traveling to Mexico. Apparently, we're traveling to Australia soon. We're trying to expand the game, and her being a part of it is only helping it."

"I don't get the dislike she's getting."

Swift, who was seated next to rapper Ice Spice, could be seen mouthing the words, "What's going on?" as the boos rained down on her. The pop star, born and raised in West Reading, Pa., seemed to take the negative reception, the majority of which likely came from Eagles fans in attendance, in stride.

Still, the forcefulness of the boos had to be surprising, if not at least a bit hurtful, to Swift. But she has at least one Eagles player in her corner.


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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.