Tyler Kolek doesn't want any bad blood with Taylor Swift.
The New York Knicks guard drew plenty of attention for naming Swift as the team's fakest celebrity fan during a recent appearance on the "NBA 2K League Podcast" alongside teammate Miles McBride. However, Kolek, who says he knows Swift's discography all too well, now claims he "misspoke" with his criticism.
"I love her music," Kolek, 25, told The Athletic's Fred Katz. "I probably know more songs than anybody else in the locker room. I just misspoke."
During the podcast, Kolek called Swift a performative Knicks fan, which McBride agreed with.
"I guess she's got a lot going on, so she can't come all the time," Kolek added. "But it's a little performative."
Knicks leadership quickly rebutted the players' comments, defending Swift as a "Knicks fan for many years" in a statement while referencing her history at Madison Square Garden. The 36-year-old pop star has performed at MSG several times and even chose to marry Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce at the Manhattan venue on July 3 - less than a month after the Knicks captured their first championship in 53 years.
Swift sat courtside for Game 4 of the Finals against the San Antonio Spurs as well, wearing a blue and orange "Stevie Knicks" shirt while cheering on the home side. The "Shake it Off" singer also watched the team on the road during the postseason, catching Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals in Cleveland with Kelce, who's a longtime Cavaliers fan.
Kolek, who told McBride that he expected to get "some hate from the Swifties" for his remarks, suggested that he may not be out of the woods just yet.
"(The video) was everywhere. Everybody saw it," Kolek told Katz. "But it is what it is. For me, it's just a question that was asked to me that maybe I answered in the wrong way. I take that on the chin.
"But I love her music. We were just playing it five minutes ago, and I'm singing every word to every song. Nothing against her at all."
