Profanity’s for the Intelligent People
I’ve never been big on celebrity news and gossip; don't purchase supermarket tabloids or watch newsmagazine shows. I’m not sure I could name three songs by Taylor Swift. I don’t dislike her, just haven’t been exposed to a lot of her music because I’m older and my kids weren’t fans. I admire her story and in interviews she’s smart and funny. I saw this story because as a Philadelphian I’m a Jason Kelce fan and follow the New Heights podcast.
One day I saw a clip of Kylie Kelce (wife of Jason) in a podcast where she’s 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 policing her language. She’s “ripped by fans” and the “internet has bad blood” with her (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. Kylie Kelce, who’s earned the nickname “Princess Kyana” in Philly as a well-loved mom of four, isn’t 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”). Married to a famous retired NFL Super Bowl champion didn’t hurt, but many women are married to NFL players and don’t have successful podcasts at age 34 while raising four kids. She earned her success in podcasting because of her personality, experience and talent: she has a degree in communications from Cabrini where she worked in newspaper and radio and was also a four-year NCAA starter field hockey athlete, later becoming a high school field hockey coach.
She was defending her family. The TMZ clip of Donna Kelce hounded in an airport while trying to remain polite is off-putting at best, and Kylie’s responding to it authentically. She curses. If people don’t like it, they shouldn’t follow her or listen to her podcast. 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.
Finally, acting like profanity makes her trashy is the wrong take. People mistakenly assume 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: Kylie is a thirtysomething down-to-earth field hockey coach Philly girl who happens to be married to a famous NFL player (she met him on Tinder!) whose famous NFL player brother is 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 others and should be avoided by conservative, holier-than-thou types whose criticism says more about their condescending envy than it does about her.
—Follow Mary McCarthy on Instagram.