In what can only be described as an unhinged display of online retaliation, at least one Taylor Swift fan allegedly called Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the mother of Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson—all because he dared to troll Travis Kelce, Swift’s boyfriend and Kansas City Chiefs tight end.
Yes, you read that correctly.
The drama began after Gardner-Johnson made a since-deleted social media post taking a jab at Kelce, writing, “Should’ve stayed w that thick s***”*—a reference many believe was aimed at Kelce’s ex-girlfriend, sports journalist Kayla Nicole. Swift’s fans, known for their extreme online activism, didn’t take kindly to the comment. What followed was a full-scale digital assault on Gardner-Johnson’s family business, King’s Grill, a restaurant owned by his parents, Brian and Del.
Please tell me I’m not the only swiftie who feels genuinely bad for this…..
I understand fuck cj gardner but his mom’s business??? Idk she wasn’t involved, her son is a mess and she isn’t responsible for his grown ass. Maybe go after the person who actually made the comment. https://t.co/I1AjzYi00Y— Raye (@willow_raye) February 11, 2025
Swifties flooded Yelp and Google with one-star reviews, forcing the platforms to disable comments and triggering an “Unusual Activity Alert.” But the online attacks didn’t stop there. One particularly vengeful fan took things to an entirely new level, posting on Reddit:
“I made an ICE report on his mom’s business and don’t regret it.”
Read that again. A fan of a pop star allegedly reported a restaurant owner to immigration authorities—over a football player’s social media post.
When another user pointed out how disturbing this behavior was, the same person doubled down, responding:
“Um, it has nothing to do with the Chiefs. Idc about football. But someone messes with Taylor they’re getting everything we have.”
“We used to ruin people who breathed wrong near her. Now you all are being soft.”
Eventually, the same user tried to walk back the statement, writing:
“Also how do you know I actually did that and didn’t just say it for fun?”
The casual attitude toward weaponizing federal agencies for revenge is troubling, to say the least. And while it’s unclear if ICE took the complaint seriously, the vindictive nature of this online mob is hard to ignore.
Despite the attacks, Gardner-Johnson’s parents aren’t sweating it. “We’re good,” Del told TMZ. “We’re going to be fine regardless of who posts what or says anything.”
