Colin Cowherd got fooled by fake Travis Kelce social media post
Feb 1, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; Radio personality Colin Cowherd broadcasts on radio row at the Moscone Center in advance of Super Bowl 50 between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Colin Cowherd probably wants a redo of one particular moment from his show this week.
During Friday’s episode of his show “The Herd,” the FOX Sports 1 host Cowherd got hoodwinked by a fake social media post, purportedly from Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
For context, music superstar Taylor Swift, who is famously dating Kelce, announced on social media this week that she would be voting for Kamala Harris in this year’s presidential election. She ended her post by calling herself a “childless cat lady” (a dig at some past remarks made by Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance).
That led to a controversial post from billionaire Elon Musk, who took to his platform X with an offer to Swift to “give you a child.”
Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 11, 2024
In response to Musk’s post, fake screenshots circulated of a supposed response from Kelce threatening to “twist [Musk] into a pretzel.” Kelce never actually posted such a message though, and the screenshots were quickly debunked.
No, Travis Kelce didn't tell Elon Musk in an X post he could twist him "into a pretzel." https://t.co/PrRXLchpGN pic.twitter.com/l6b6HsRq4i
— snopes.com (@snopes) September 12, 2024
But that did not stop Cowherd from mentioning the (very clearly fake) post on the air.
“I saw Elon Musk and Travis Kelce going at it,” said Cowherd. “Travis Kelce taking a shot at Elon Musk on X.”
Here is the video.
Colin Cowherd got duped by the fake tweet of Travis Kelce replying to Elon Musk.https://t.co/sXC5vJjnRR pic.twitter.com/C9vQCQL9Vd
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 13, 2024
That did not sound like something that was just passed along to Cowherd by his production team either as he mentioned that it was something that he supposedly saw himself. Cowherd clearly should have double-checked on that one before mentioning it on the air.
While a public feud between Musk and Kelce would have been a far bigger story if it had actually been true, the greater issue is the prevalence of fake posts and reports making it onto the air in sports media. While that kind of mishap used to only happen to Stephen A. Smith, even team announcers have been falling victim to fake reports this year, and Cowherd is now joining the club as well.