Is Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes’ practiced handshake cringe or endearing? That’s what the internet has been debating since they saw the duo bonding as they celebrated their partners’ football team, the Kansas City Chiefs, making a touchdown during this weekend’s game.
Swift gets put under the microscope of public opinion with each new relationship, friendship, and breakup—this time is no different.
Now that her record-breaking Eras Tour concert is coming to an end and her concert film has been released in theaters, people have swiveled their focus back to the singer’s love life and friendships.
Swift and Travis Kelce, a Kansas City Chiefs football player, sparked dating rumors last month as Swift was spotted attending a few Chiefs games. The high-profile pair seemed to confirm their romance in October when seen publicly holding hands, People reported. Swift has also been seen hanging with Kelce’s mom, and ET reported that Kelce plans to visit the pop star on the international leg of her tour.
As the relationship between Swift and Kelce seemingly solidifies, so does her bond with Brittany Mahomes, who’s in the stands cheering on a different Chiefs player, her husband and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The pair seem to have started their friendship a bit ago, as Mahomes was previously spotted having dinner with Swift, Sophie Turner, and Blake Lively before sitting in a suite for the game together, People reported.
As the women watched the game, they celebrated their partners’ touchdown success with a special handshake of their own.
In the video, they’re seen slapping the fronts and backs of their hands and doing a hip bump. They also danced together as Brittany held her 11-month-old son.
Commenters under the video are split about the duo’s handshake.
Some find their relationship distracting and fake.
“This is so cringe,” a person on X said.
“Now this is publicity stunt who practices a handshake she literally just started going to games and chillin wit the chiefs lol this wack,” another wrote.
“Taylor swift is desperate for album sells she needed to date someone who’s more popular than her,” a commenter accused.
Swift has continually been criticized for her dating choices, and it’s not new for the public to be skeptical of the legitimacy of her relationships.
But one thing is for sure: when it comes to the relationship with Kelce, Swift is a star in her own right and has actually brought more female viewers to NFL games since her public support of the Chiefs.
Since her public game attendance, there’s been a boost of about two million additional female viewers, Today reported. One of the game announcers, Mike Tirico, even called out their new viewers, saying, “Hi, Swifties, we’ll be with you all night.”
Others were glad to see how the friendship is playing out.
“Wow, what a cool friendship! It’s always great to see celebrities supporting and celebrating each other!” a person said.
“She’s adorable i can’t,” another wrote.
Another person noted that Brittany “was also best friends with Kelces ex.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Swift’s team via email and to Mahomes via Instagram direct message. We reached out to the Kansas City Current soccer team, which Mahomes is a co-owner of, to get in contact with her media team.
