Key Takeaways
- On her podcast The Pre-Game, Kayla Nicole declares that her Blackness is “never up for debate,” insisting her dating history with men of any race does not disqualify her from advocating for Black women.
- Responding to backlash over her BET Media House comment that Black men should better protect Black women, she cites disparities in maternal mortality, pay, health care, and the workplace and says calls for protection should “mobilize” not “enrage” people, punctuating it with “kiss my Black ass.”
- Amid ongoing public fixation on her past relationship with Travis Kelce and his marriage to Taylor Swift, Nicole urges women to “decenter men,” reject obsession with being chosen, and instead embrace the mindset, “I choose me, babe.”
Kayla Nicole has spent years having strangers on the internet debate everything from her dating history to her motives. But there’s one subject she’s officially taking off the table: her identity as a Black woman.
On the latest episode of The Pre-Game with Kayla Nicole, the sports broadcaster and media personality revisited the backlash she received after an appearance at BET Media House, where she was asked what Black men could do to better support Black women. Her answer—that Black men could do a better job protecting Black women—drew plenty of criticism online. Nicole came back with a much longer response.
“My Blackness is never up for debate or discussion,” she said. “I don’t care who I’ve dated. Purple, blue, white, orange, or green. I’m Black, and I’m a Black woman at that. So, me advocating for Black women should never be an issue, ever.”
Nicole’s reference to whom she has dated carries some obvious history. She was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Travis Kelce from 2017 until their final split in 2022. Kelce began dating Taylor Swift the following year, and Nicole has repeatedly been dragged into conversations about the couple ever since—including after Kelce and Swift married at Madison Square Garden on July 3.
But Nicole made clear that her dating history doesn’t disqualify her from speaking about issues affecting Black women. She pointed to disparities in maternal mortality, pay, health care and the workplace before doubling down.
“At the end of the day, I’m a Black woman,” Nicole said. “My skin is Black. I was born Black. I’mma die Black. And I’m going to continue to advocate for Black women.”
She added that saying Black women deserve protection “should not enrage you. In fact, it should mobilize you.”
And then came the punctuation mark.
“Y’all can kiss my ass,” Nicole said, laughing before sharpening the line: “Kiss my Black ass.”
She later added, “I just don’t feel like advocating for Black women means that I am attacking Black men. That is unfair.”
It’s hardly the first time Nicole’s comments have generated headlines beyond their original context. Since her breakup with Kelce, everything from her dating advice to social media posts has been examined for possible references to her ex. After Kelce married Swift, Nicole resurfaced publicly in Los Angeles without commenting on the wedding.
Her latest Pre-Game episode also found Nicole pushing a broader message about choosing herself. Responding to a caller frustrated with dating, she declared that “the men are the problem,” encouraged women to “decenter men this summer,” and rejected the obsession with being picked by somebody else.
“We are the prize in this,” Nicole said. “We are also the ones that are capable of doing the choosing.”
Her bottom line was even simpler: “I’m so sick of us caring about being chosen by a man. Chosen by a man? Please. Chosen by a man. I don’t care anymore. I choose me, babe.”
