Kayla Nicole Throws Shade In Super Bowl Commercial
- Kayla Nicole's Super Bowl ad contained subtle references interpreted as digs at her ex Travis Kelce and his new fiancée Taylor Swift.
If youare lucky enough to land a commercial spot during the Super Bowl, the goal is simple: make it unforgettable, and Kayla Nicole accomplished that mission this year. Sorry, Swifties!
The internet has been buzzing nonstop after viewers caught what many believe were subtle (and not-so-subtle) jabs directed at her ex, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and his now-fiancée, Taylor Swift. Whether intentional or not, the moment immediately became one of the most talked about non-football stories of Super Bowl Sunday.
In the commercial – a Sleeper ad that also features Tiffany Haddish, Ben Simmons, Offset, and Love Island's Ace Greene – Kayla's role was part of a parody about a fictional fix-it company called “The Ex-Communicators”, which supposedly specializes in helping people deal with grief after a high-profile breakup.
The skit pokes fun at emotional recovery, with Simmons and Haddish insisting they can help you get “excommunicated” from a former partner.
Nicole, introduced on screen with a card identifying her only as the “ex of a certain NFL player,” then cracks a line that immediately sparks conversation.
“Don't get me started on these two. They have no idea what they're doing. At all.”
The shade gets even more specific when she and Simmons fumble with timing words — she says “quick,” before he corrects her with “I said quick,” a playful twist that many viewers interpreted as a nod to Taylor Swift (especially given her name and the couple's huge public profile).
To understand why this Super Bowl ad hit so hard, you have to look at the broader timeline of Kayla's public moments since the breakup. Kayla and Travis were together for about five years before their on-again, off-again relationship ended in 2022, and she has since held the attention of fans not only with her career, but with her highly talked-about moments, like when she went viral for receiving a lap dance from Chris Brown and when she spoofed Toni Braxton's “Man Enough” Halloween.
Of course, the reactions online have been all over the place. Some viewers applauded Kayla, calling the ad a masterclass in subtle shade and personal branding, praising her for securing her own Super Bowl moment and controlling the narrative. Others felt that the speculation was exaggerated, claiming that the ad was simply about empowerment and that people were projecting meaning onto it because of their past relationship.
At the same time, many commentators dragged Kayla hard, saying that the whole thing reeked of someone who is still not over her ex, accusing her of being petty, hung up and trying to insert herself into someone else's story of happiness. Of course, there were those who stood firm for Travis and Taylor, calling the whole situation unnecessary and urging Kayla to let it go. Regardless, the consensus is indisputable: the ad worked because everyone was talking about it.
Whether you see the ad as intentional shade, clever marketing, or just a coincidence fueled by Internet detectives, Kayla Nicole managed to create a moment that cut through Super Bowl chaos.
It reopened conversations about visibility, moving on, and who can tell their side of the story. Now, like most pop culture moments, it's up to the audience to decide where they stand. Was it shade, strategy, or just a woman having her moment on the biggest stage possible? That timeline may speak for itself, but Kayla already won the attention game.
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