Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce has admitted he struggled during the SNL table read before he hosted in 2023, as he ‘can’t really read that well.’
Kelce, who has been increasingly dipping his toes into the entertainment space in recent years, hosted the legendary comedy show a few weeks after the Chiefs defeated the Eagles in Super Bowl LVIII.
And while he called the overall experience a ‘fun roller coaster,’ he struggled during the table read.
‘The writers’ rooms were fun because you’re just getting pitched ideas. The table reading, for a guy that can’t really read that well, it was kind of a f***ed situation,’ he said on Bussin’ with the Boys.
‘I felt like I was just trying to get through the reading instead of actually acting it out and giving it a voice and giving it a character and things like that,’ he continued. ‘I was just focused on, “Don’t f***ing skip this line.”‘
However, the lighthearted Chiefs star, who hosts his own New Heights podcast with brother Jason, noted that he felt ‘so much more comfortable’ while doing ‘the silly stuff’ on the show.
‘There was still a sense of like, “I need to be a professional here,”‘ he added. ‘I want to take advantage of this, but I want to have fun doing it, but I don’t want to look like a loser doing this. I want to make them respect my approach and how I’m like taking it serious. But it was just a fun rollercoaster, man.’
Travis’s admission went viral – but not for good reason at first.
Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce has admitted he struggled during the SNL table read before he hosted in 2023, as he ‘can’t really read that well’
Kelce hosted SNL in 2023 after winning Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles
Kelce has been increasingly dipping his toes into the entertainment world in recent years
Many social media users mocked the NFL player for the revelation, with one even sarcastically calling it ‘one of the bravest admissions you can make.’
Some even brought Travis’ popstar girlfriend Taylor Swift into the conversation, poking fun at her for choosing a partner that would struggle with reading.
‘I know Taylor Swift is not my friend and parasocial relationships are unhealthy,’ one X (formerly Twitter) user wrote. But I so badly need to text her right now and be like “girl be f**king serious.”‘
One user even mockingly called their coupling ‘an IQ gap relationship.’
But Travis fans have since jumped in to defend him, referencing the fact that he’s spoken about his difficult with school growing up.
‘Honestly, sports gave me a lot of confidence,’ Travis told PEOPLE in 2023.
‘I wasn’t the best student in terms of reading and doing math and everything.’
He spoke about his academic struggles again when he was hosting Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?, admitting that there were times when he wouldn’t know something when everyone else in the room would.
Many users mocked Travis’ admission, insinuating that he was unintelligent
Other fans said that whether or not Travis has dyslexia, there is no excuse to make fun of someone with their academic struggles
‘I can’t believe some of you people are making fun of him for not reading,’ an X user wrote in Travis’ defense. ‘It’s disgusting. Learning disabilities are real and not subject for being made fun of. He’s so fucking real for being honest. Let’s celebrate that.’
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Many users also cited dyslexia as the reason behind Travis’ struggles with the SNL script, but the NFL player has never specifically said that he was diagnosed with any kind of learning disability.
Some said that regardless of whether Travis had dyslexia or not, making fun of his confession was ‘mean.’
‘Weird AF to make fun of someone for a struggle completely out of their hands,’ one user wrote. ‘Doesn’t matter if dyslexia or not.’
Despite Travis’ struggles with scripts, it’s clear that he won’t let his difficulties get in the way of taking part in entertainment projects off the field as the 35-year-old gets closer to retirement.
He previously appeared in the show Grotesquerie. He also served as an executive producer of the film, My Dead Friend Zoe, an award-winning dark comedy.
And, later this month, fans will be able to watch him in Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore 2.