Angel Reese Says ‘Hating Pays’ After Kayla Nicole Interview Backlash

Angel Reese has a response to the backlash she has received from Taylor Swift fans after an interview with Travis Kelce’s ex-girlfriend Kayla Nicole.

“Hating pays too,” Reese, 22, wrote via X on Friday, October 11, together with a nail-painting emoji. Someday prior, the Chicago Sky forward had released an episode of her podcast, “Unapologetically Angel,” wherein she spoke with Nicole, 32, about where she stands with Kelce, 35.

“We’ve seen one another in public spaces before but it surely’s — I feel that we’re each aware of the character of his latest situation that there’s just no room really for us to speak or acknowledge one another publicly without it being spun into something crazy,” Nicole shared on the Thursday, October 10, episode. “I’ll probably hit him with, like, a head nod. That’s about it.”

Kelce and Nicole dated on and off between 2017 and 2022 before they split for good. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end moved on with Swift, 34, in July 2023.

“He’s an incredible guy,” Nicole said about her past relationship with the NFL star. “That was time in my life. So many lessons learned, but that’s with every relationship.”

She added that, moving forward, she could be hesitant about stepping into one other public relationship. “I don’t see myself doing that anytime soon,” she told Reese. “People can’t pick at what they don’t find out about. I’d just protect my relationships from here on out.”

Nicole, for her part, didn’t mention Swift in any respect in the course of the podcast, but did address the quantity of hate she has received online from a faction of Swift’s fanbase.

“I could be lying if I said that that level of hate and just, like, online chaos doesn’t impact me,” she revealed. “It does, even to at the present time. You possibly can go to my most up-to-date post and it would be people debating one another why I’m worthless and I’ll never be a talented person and I even have no profession.”

She added, “I feel that there’s something about that level of fame that draws crazy people. It’s unlucky because I’ve never done anything to warrant that sort of backlash.”

Nicole still has ties to the NFL as a sports analyst, and warranted fans that she would proceed to speak about all NFL teams and their players, including the Chiefs, irrespective of how much hate she received.

“To think I’m not going to speak concerning the No. 1 team within the NFL with the very best quarterback and best tight end? That comes with the territory,” she explained. “They’re gonna should recover from it.”