Jana Kramer stepped in it this week when she inserted herself into the Travis Kelce/Taylor Swift news cycle. On the most recent episode of her podcast Whine Down, Jana and her guest, a friend named Josie, ended up talking about Travis and Taylor, leading Jana to infer that Travis may have a drinking problem. The topic comes up when Josie shares that a listener of her podcast had dinner with Travis and Taylor and sent her a picture as proof. Josie declares that she’s obsessed with the two of them and that from what she’s been told, their love is the real thing. This prompts Jana to say that Travis reminds her of her ex-husband and that she’s “heard things” that she doesn’t “love.” She also says that she hopes Travis is filling Taylor’s emotional needs because, to her, “he’s always drunk.”
“He was taken aback as he’s never met her and is just living his life,” one insider says in response to Kramer’s recent “Whine Down” podcast episode in which the “One Tree Hill” alum, 40, said the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 34, is “always drunk.”
Our sources emphatically deny that Kelce has a drinking issue, with a second insider pointing out exclusively to Page Six, “The guy is under a microscope, basically being watched everywhere he goes. Of course you’re going to see him drinking. He’s being watched everywhere he goes.”
The source adds that if the pro athlete indeed had a drinking problem, it would be very hard to hide given his notoriety.
“It’s not like he’s passed out somewhere,” the insider explains. “If he was passed out somewhere, I would totally understand, but that’s not the case whatsoever.”
The source says Kelce is just a “normal human being” who is “doing the same thing” as everyone else, except “they’re not in the public eye.”
We’re also told that the three-time Super Bowl champ is “in training right now” in preparation for the upcoming NFL season, so “if he was drunk, it would be a bigger problem.”
In April, Kelce turned heads when he chugged a beer at his honorary college graduation during the live show for his and brother Jason Kelce’s podcast, “New Heights.” However, Jason, 36, later came to his younger brother’s defense, highlighting the fact that the light-hearted event wasn’t an actual graduation and the siblings were there to raise money for student athletes.
Sources close to Travis conclude that Kramer, for her part, is just following her usual modus operandi of attaching herself to someone who is more famous than she for headlines. A source also told TMZ that Kelce thinks the podcaster was just “clout-chasing.”
“This is what Jana Kramer does,” one insider says. “She latches onto people to get attention.”
Page Six has reached out to Travis and Kramer’s reps for comment but did not immediately hear back.
The mother of two has also not responded to the backlash she’s received for calling out Travis or claiming that the sports superstar is a bad influence on his girlfriend, Taylor Swift. (Kramer also said on her podcast that the Grammy winner is “drinking more now” since she began dating Travis.)
However, her silence has not stopped Swifties from coming to both the pop star and her beau’s defense.
“Someone who is on their FOURTH marriage shouldn’t be taking about Taylor & Travis’ relationship especially judging it based on short clips at SOCIAL EVENTS,” one fan wrote.
Another added, “The things you said about Travis and Taylor were uncalled for and none of your business. Imagine talking about him and attention when you used their names to make headlines. Talking about his drinking was low and just plain nasty. Do better since you are always preaching about it.”
I think maybe Jana needs to watch more videos of Travis. I’ve watched plenty of clips of him on New Heights and he’s never seemed inebriated to me. If there really was a problem, it would have leaked, right? That said, welcome to the really big spotlight, Travis. The sh-ttiness is a real thing. As for Jana’s assertions about Taylor being shown drinking more nowadays…Did we see a lot of images of Taylor and Travis drinking during football season? Sure, but those pictures were at football games and post-game celebrations. We have no idea what they do in private. TayTay’s been using drinking metaphors in her songs and shown drinking at award shows for quite some time now. I’m not going to police a grown man or woman’s drinking habits like this.
So yeah, if you want to get attention, coming for Taylor Swift’s boyfriend and risking the wrath of the Swifties is certainly a bold move. Honestly though, after listening to the whole segment, I’m not sure if Jana expected her comments to blow up this much, but I don’t know how she couldn’t. I get that she prefaces her opinion with “I’ve heard things,” but at the end of the day, without actual receipts, it’s just meaningless gossip. Dare I say it’s…so high school?
Photos credit Faye’s Vision/Cover Images, Getty and via Instagram/B4859/Avalon