This February was Superbowl 58. While the game was full of entertainment and noteworthy moments, a new topic was brought up in response to some negative tweets and feedback directed towards the NFL. The topic was Taylor Swift, a wildly famous singer who is currently on tour and is dating one of the football players on the Kansas City Chiefs, Travis Kelce. An article from USA Today, written before the Superbowl occurred focusing on the romance between Swift and Kelce, writes, “She has [attended] for 12 Chiefs games throughout the 2023 regular season and playoffs.” This new fascination with the romance between them has sparked arguments online and even people attacked the NFL and Swift.

The main thing creating these conflicts is people upset with how much Swift is being shown on television. While most of this hate is being directed toward Swift, others, including sophomore Isha Yelamanchili, believes “it is not her fault, and it is the NFL’s fault for trying to make money off her.” USA Today has shared an estimate to the number of times Swift has been shown, stating, “Arnold cited the New York Times report that determined Swift is shown for roughly 25 seconds (out of more than three hours) of games she has attended and that her name is rarely mentioned.” Social media has begun to exaggerate the number of times she is shown. These posts directed towards Swift have been circulated mostly on TikTok and Twitter. People noticed that those who are most upset with how much Swift is being shown are men. Junior Audrey Drake agrees, stating, “I think men (are those most offended) because people who don’t agree with her have to see her on a show and she gets more recognition.” In the past Swift has made songs and promoted activism to fight sexism in media. However, in doing so, some of her male audience has been offended and felt targeted. With Swift’s opinions being

shared openly on the internet, she has received hate or jokes have been made by people who do not support her, specifically regarding her relationships. Another example was the problematic jokes made by Jo Koy at this past Golden Globes.

Jo Koy has been the center of many conversations about jokes regarding women in Hollywood. At the 2024 Golden Globes, Koy went viral for his negative comments towards the award-winning movie “Barbie” and a joke regarding Swift and the NFL. An article from CBS News, shares the joke made by Koy: “You know, we came on after a football doubleheader,” he said. “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? On the Golden Globes we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift. I swear. There’s just more to go to here. Sorry about that.” This clip went viral due to the camera picking up a shot of an annoyed Swift taking a drink while rolling her eyes. Jo Koy then continued by making a joke, diminishing Barbie’s significance by sexualizing Margot Robbie (which is the opposite of what the movie was made for). In response to what IHS students thought of the Barbie and the Taylor Swift joke, senior Benjamin Lake stated, “I just did not think [Jo Koy] was funny.” An article from AP News, focusing on the top ten moments from the Golden Globes, states, “It would be unwise to count ‘Barbie’ out, but it was a disappointing night for her fans, and also for another fearsome force.” The Golden Globe joke fiasco resulted in a new discussion on how much women are used as the punchline in comedy.

Matt Rife is a popular comedian who has reached massive fame and popularity on TikTok. He recently had a comedy show released on Netflix. According to the Netflix website, stating, “Comedian Matt Rife holds nothing back in this rollicking stand up special.” The reason people are upset with Rife is because his opening joke for his special was a joke about domestic

violence victims and alluding to the idea that women “belong in the kitchen.” Disgusted by the joke, many people began to message Netflix and express their concern which resulted in Rife posting an apology. This is not the only time a famous comedian has made the joke for women “to stay in the kitchen” or be a “good wife.” Swift and other women in media fight to spread the ideals that women should be viewed as equals in television and in the workplace.

Overall, women in media must deal with this sexism in media and the normalized misogyny in comedy. Many of these conflicts could have been solved by researching the full story of the amount of times Swift was shown, the actual meanings of progressive movies fighting for equality, and the ways to hold comedians accountable. Freshman Tristan Evans says, “I think learning more about feminism can help stop the jokes.”