If you were watching the Season 49 premiere of Saturday Night Live, you were likely shocked to see Travis Kelce pop up on the screen during a sketch all about whether the NFL is “overdoing” their coverage of the Kansas City Chiefs tight end’s rumored relationship with Taylor Swift. Then, after that fun little sketch, Taylor Swift, of all people, shocked us all again by appearing on screen to introduce the episode's musical guest Ice Spice. Overall, it was a genuinely surprising set of cameos, and the story behind it makes it even wilder, because they reportedly weren’t planned in advance.
As Pete Davidson took his place as the first of many hosts for SNL’s 49th Season, he was joined by the two mega stars and reported couple, however, it wasn’t exactly planned. Sources close to the NBC show spoke to Variety about how the two cameos came to be, and apparently, no one working on the show knew the NFL player and pop star were coming. They said:
No one knew they were coming, and they contacted a few minutes before arrival at air time.
It sounds like the two superstars might have simply waltzed into 30 Rock to support their friends. According to People, they’re both fans of Pete Davidson and Ice Spice. Also, Kelce hosted an episode during Season 48 and Swift has been the musical guest many times over the years. So, their attendance makes sense.
During his podcast, New Heights, Kelce spoke about why they decided to go to the taping, telling his brother and co-host Jason Kelce:
We showed up at SNL having the idea of going and supporting Ice Spice. Her and Taylor are good friends. I’ve always wanted to meet Pete Davidson. I’ve been a fan of his for quite a while since he was actually on the show. I’ll tell you what man, it was electric to be back in that place.
The sources in both stories then went on to say that the cast and crew at Saturday Night Live immediately asked if the reported couple would be down to make cameos. According to Variety’s insider, they were more than happy to:
The second [Kelce] walked in, they mentioned the sketch and he said he was happy to join. They were happy to jump into some parts of the show when asked.
Travis Kelce confirmed this while explaining what it was like getting back up on the SNL stage. On his podcast, he said:
I don’t even remember what I said. I blacked out. As soon as they cued to me, the entire place erupted, which was very overwhelming. I’m not even sure if I said anything. Actually, I walked off and I said ‘Did I say anything at all?’ Everybody was like ‘Yeah, you killed it.’ And I watched it over and I still don’t really know if I said what I was supposed to.
As Kelce said, he was a fan of Davidson, and Swift is friends with Ice Spice. Considering the rapper collaborated on the Midnights artist’s remix of “Karma” earlier this summer, and she joined her at the Eras Tour to perform the track, it makes sense why the "Cruel Summer" singer wanted to support her pal on SNL.
During the episode, Kelce popped up in a hilarious sketch about how the NFL has been covering his relationship with Swift. While the cast and Davidson played reporters who only wanted to talk about the pop star, the NFL star popped up as the one guy who actually wanted to talk about football. The Kansas City Chief said he thought the idea was really funny, and was down to be part of it, saying:
I didn’t know what skits were coming up. I’m pretty sure that it was just ironic that they were doing a skit about Swiftmania. But I thought it was hilarious, and when they asked me to be a part of it, I was like ‘Man, I’d be honored.’
You can see the hilarious sketch here:
Meanwhile, during the latter half of the show, Taylor Swift came on to introduce Ice Spice’s second performance:
Overall, the episode was very successful, and afterward, Kelce was seen being a total gentleman as he and Swift attended the SNL afterparty to hang out with their friends and those who work on the show.
Along with these two massive, and unexpected, cameos, Davidson’s episode was solid. He parodied Barbie’s “I’m Just Ken,” to sing about his own life, and starred in a myriad of hilarious sketches. Overall, this episode was a great way to get back to being “live from New York” on “Saturday night” after being off the air for longer than normal due to the strikes.
You can go back and watch Pete Davidson’s episode of SNL, which shockingly featured Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, with a Peacock subscription. Also, make sure to use that subscription (or tune in on NBC) to catch another international superstar on the sketch show when Bad Bunny hosts the second episode of Saturday Night Live on the 2023 TV schedule on Saturday, October 21 at 11:30 p.m. ET.
