Profanity is for the Intelligent People

 

Bitch about it in Kylie Kelce’s comments and out yourself as a dumbass.

 

Mary McCarthy

 

I’ve never been big on celebrity news, gossip, whatever— in my lifetime have never purchased a tabloid magazine at the checkout or watched a newsmagazine show if that’s what they’re called. And not to throw shade at all, but none of my kids happened to be fans so I’m not sure I could name three songs by Taylor Swift.. I don’t dislike her, just haven’t really been exposed to a lot of her music because I’m old and it was never really playing around me. I admire her story and in interviews she’s clearly brilliant and funny. So I assume how I saw this story is because as a Philadelphian I’m a Jason Kelce fan and follow the New Heights podcast. By default then, I do see some Travis/Taylor content. 

 

So one day I see a clip of Kylie Kelce (wife of Jason) in a podcast where she is expressing strong opinions about the tabloid media hounding her mother-in-law Donna about the upcoming wedding of Travis and Taylor. In this segment, Kylie says: “Stop f–king asking my mother-in-law, TMZ. F–king being creeps in the f–ing airport. Ew. Here’s the thing, even if I did have any information, I’m not f–king telling you. That’s private information between family.” Going forward, Kylie said her “new answer” will be: “Suck my a–.”

 

Enter the online trolls, bullies and critics clutching many strands of pearls and policing her language. She’s “ripped by fans” and the “internet has bad blood” with her (yes, I get the Swift reference.) The comments were brutal; there was even a South Park style cartoon comparing Kylie to Megan Markle and Prince Harry with a caption stating her podcast exists “for the sole purpose of monetizing her relationship/proximity to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.” 

 

This overinflated outrage is ridiculous on a few fronts. First of all, Kylie Kelce, who’s earned the nickname “Princess Kyana” in Philly as a well-loved mom of four, is not a try-hard fame-chaser wannabe. Her podcast “Not Gonna Lie” was covered by the New York Times when it ranked above Joe Rogan (the Times demurely described it as “often laced with four-letter words”). While being married to a famous retired NFL SuperBowl champion didn’t hurt, many women are married to NFL players and don’t have wildly successful podcasts at age 34 while raising 4 kids. She earned her success in podcasting because of her own personality, experience and talent: she has a degree in communications from Cabriniwhere she worked in newspaper and radio and was also a 4-year NCAA starter field hockey athlete, later becoming a high school field hockey coach.  

 

Secondly, she was defending her family. The TMZ clip of Donna Kelce being hounded in an airport while trying to remain polite is cringy at best, and Kylie is responding to it authentically. She curses. If people don’t like it, they shouldn’t follow her or listen to her podcast, it’s really simple as that. Trying to turn it into a punching down moment with churchy, outraged comments against her is stupid. She’s not a privileged, elite, condescending celebrity type and if you’ve listened to her content for five minutes or know anything about her, you know the royals cartoon is silly. 

 

And finally, acting like profanity makes her trashy is the wrong take. People mistakenlyassume swearing signals language laziness, but research suggests the opposite: people who use a wider range of profanity often have larger vocabularies and verbal fluency. One study found that people who use more swear words also have a higher vocabulary in general. Other research links profanity with emotional intelligence and honesty. In everyday conversation, a well-placed expletive reflects expressive skill rather than a lack of intelligence.

 

Bottom line is this: Kylie is athirtysomething down to earth field hockey coach Philly girl who happens to be married to a famous NFL player (she methim on Tinder!) whose famous NFL player brother happens to be marrying a famous pop star. Fame is something that happened to her, it isn’t something she sought. Her podcast is adored by moms, sports fans, and tons of folks and should be avoided by conservative, pearl-clutching, holier-than-thou types whose criticism says more about their condescending envy than it fuckin does about her.

 

Follow Mary McCarthy on Instagram.

 

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