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, along with a nail-painting emoji. One day 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 each other in public spaces before but it’s — I think that we’re both aware of the nature of his new situation that there’s just no room really for us to communicate or acknowledge each other 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 off and on 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 a great guy,” Nicole said about her past relationship with the NFL star. “That was a good time in my life. So many lessons learned, but that’s with every relationship.”

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

Nicole, for her part, did not mention Swift at all during the podcast, but did address the amount of hate she has received online from a faction of Swift’s fanbase.

“I would 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 this day. You can go to my most recent post and it will be people debating each other why I am worthless and I’ll never be a talented person and I have no career.”

She added, “I think that there’s something about that level of fame that attracts crazy people. It’s unfortunate because I’ve never done anything to warrant that kind of backlash.”

Nicole still has ties to the NFL as a sports analyst, and assured fans that she would continue to talk about all NFL teams and their players, including the Chiefs, no matter how much hate she received.

“To think I’m not going to talk about the No. 1 team in the NFL with the best quarterback and best tight end? That comes with the territory,” she explained. “They’re gonna have to get over it.”