A fan of pop star Taylor Swift allegedly reported the mother of Philadelphia Eagles player C.J. Gardner-Johnson to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the NFL star made a comment about Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s past relationship.

Image Credit: © Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The controversy began when Gardner-Johnson took to social media and posted, “Should’ve Stayed w that thick sh*t,” in an apparent reference to Kelce’s ex-girlfriend, sports journalist Kayla Nicole.

😳 CJ Gardner-Johnson just posted this on his story. “Should’ve stayed w that thick s****” pic.twitter.com/10eBSLey1q

— SAY CHEESE! 👄🧀 (@SaycheeseDGTL) February 10, 2025

Swift’s fans, often referred to as “Swifties,” responded with outrage, launching an online backlash that included a flood of negative reviews targeting a restaurant owned by Gardner-Johnson’s parents.

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Shortly after Gardner-Johnson’s post, King’s Grill, a restaurant owned by his parents, Brian and Del, was flooded with one-star reviews on Yelp.

Many of the negative comments appeared to be unrelated to the business itself, instead attacking Gardner-Johnson’s personal life and recent remarks.

The wave of online retaliation escalated when one Reddit user claimed to have reported the restaurant to ICE. The user wrote, “I made an ICE report on his mom’s business and don’t regret it.”

Other Swift fans piled on with additional remarks, including one comment that read, “I crossed some limits today. I don’t regret s*. F**k you @CGJXXII you absolute piece of trash, pay the alimony you owe to your zillions of babymamas.”

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Today in women supporting women, Swifties have decided to review bomb and CALL ICE ON a restaurant run by the MOTHER of an Eagles player who insulted Taylor Swift on social media 🦅 [Full explanation in comments]
byu/apricot_sweetheart intravisandtaylor

Another user attempted to justify the behavior, stating, “Um it has nothing to do with the Chiefs. Idc about football. But someone messes with Taylor they’re getting everything we have.”

When another commenter called out the actions as excessive, the original poster responded, “We used to ruin people who breathed wrong near her. Now you all are being soft.”

The individual later attempted to downplay the situation, adding, “Also how do you know I actually did that and didn’t just say it for fun?”

Due to the sudden surge of one-star reviews, Yelp issued an “Unusual Activity Alert” on King’s Grill’s page and temporarily disabled comments.

Google also appeared to take action by removing the recent reviews left on the restaurant’s listing.

Despite the backlash, Brian and Del Gardner-Johnson remained unfazed.

Speaking to TMZ, they dismissed the negative reviews, saying, “We’re going to be fine regardless of who posts what or says anything.”

C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s mother echoed the sentiment, adding, “We’re good.”

Today in women supporting women, Swifties have decided to review bomb and CALL ICE ON a restaurant run by the MOTHER of an Eagles player who insulted Taylor Swift on social media 🦅 [Full explanation in comments]
byu/apricot_sweetheart intravisandtaylor

As of Wednesday morning, neither Taylor Swift nor Travis Kelce have publicly addressed the situation.

The incident follows heightened tensions between Swift’s fanbase and those critical of her relationship with the Chiefs star, which was further fueled by Swift being booed when shown on the jumbotron at Super Bowl LVIII.

The online attacks against Gardner-Johnson’s family highlight the extreme lengths some Swift fans are willing to go in defense of the singer, raising concerns over online harassment and the impact of celebrity fan culture on public discourse.

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