Current:Home > NewsJason Kelce Shares What He Regrets Most About Phone-Smashing Incident -AssetBase
Jason Kelce Shares What He Regrets Most About Phone-Smashing Incident
View
Date:2025-04-16 07:51:28
Jason Kelce has some regrets.
Days after a video of him smashing the phone of a man who allegedly called his brother Travis Kelce a homophobic slur over his romance with Taylor Swift vent viral, the former Philadelphia Eagles player is speaking out.
"I'm just gonna address it," Jason told his brother in the Nov. 6 episode of their New Heights podcast. "I feel like it needs one more time and then hopefully we can stop talking about this really stupid situation."
"I'm not happy about the situation, me reacting gave him the time of day and it also gave the situation notoriety," Jason told his brother. "That's what I regret. It didn't deserve attention, it's really stupid."
The father of three added that he wishes he simply hadn't reacted to the heckler.
"If I just keep walking, it's a f--king nothingburger, nobody sees it," Jason said. "Now, it's out there and it just perpetuates more hate."
During the Nov. 2 incident outside of Beaver Stadium at Penn State University, a man approached Jason with his phone up and asked, "Kelce, how does it feel that your brother is a [homophobic slur] for dating Taylor Swift?"
The ESPN NFL analyst then turned around and responded, "Who's the [homophobic slur] now?" before smashing the man's phone.
The 36-year-old continued saying that the "thing that I regret the most is saying that word to be honest with you. The word he used it's just f--king ridiculous, and it takes it to another level. It's just off the wall, f--king over the line."
"It's dehumanizing and it got under my skin, it elicited a reaction," Jason went on. "In the heat of the moment, I thought 'Hey, what can I say back to him? I'm going to throw this s--t right back in his face. F--k him.' What I do regret, is now there's a video that is very hateful, that is now online that has been seen by millions of people and I share fault in perpetuating it and having that out there."
Travis backed his older brother up, praised him for owning his mistakes and and urged him to use the situation as a learning lesson.
"The real situation is you had some f--king clown come up to you and talk about your family and you reacted in a way that was defending your family, and you might've used some words that you regret using," he shared. "That's a situation you've just got to learn from and own. I think you owning it and you speaking about it shows how sincere you are to a lot of people in this world."
The Kansas City Chiefs player went on to vouch for Jason's character, telling him, "You don't choose hate, that's just not who you are. I love you brother, I think you said that perfectly."
Jason had previously broken his silence on the incident during ESPN's Nov. 4 episode of Monday Night Countdown.
"I'm not happy with anything that took place. I'm not proud of it," he said. "And in a heated moment, I chose to greet hate with hate, and I just don't think that that's a productive thing."
"I don't think that it leads to discourse and it's the right way to go about things," Jason continued. "In that moment, I fell down to a level that I shouldn't have. So, I think the bottom line is, I try to live my life by the golden rule—it’s what I've always been taught—I try to treat people with common decency and respect, and I'm going to keep doing that moving forward, even though I fell short this week."
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (1717)
Related
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Man identifying himself as American Travis Timmerman found in Syria after being freed from prison
- Biden says he was ‘stupid’ not to put his name on pandemic relief checks like Trump did
- 'Squirrel stuck in a tree' tops funniest wildlife photos of the year: See the pictures
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Michael Cole, 'The Mod Squad' and 'General Hospital' actor, dies at 84
- How to watch the Geminid meteor shower this weekend
- OCBC chief Helen Wong joins Ho Ching, Jenny Lee on Forbes' 100 most powerful women list
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
Ranking
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- Trump names Andrew Ferguson as head of Federal Trade Commission to replace Lina Khan
- Apple, Android users on notice from FBI, CISA about texts amid 'massive espionage campaign'
- When fire threatened a California university, the school says it knew what to do
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- Not sure what to write in your holiday card? These tips can help: Video tutorial
- Gas prices set to hit the lowest they've been since 2021, AAA says
- Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
Recommendation
John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
'Yellowstone' Season 5, Part 2: Here's when the final episode comes out and how to watch
Mitt Romney’s Senate exit may create a vacuum of vocal, conservative Trump critics
Australian man arrested for starting fire at Changi Airport
Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
New York Climate Activists Urge Gov. Hochul to Sign ‘Superfund’ Bill
Not sure what to write in your holiday card? These tips can help: Video tutorial
GM to retreat from robotaxis and stop funding its Cruise autonomous vehicle unit