Kayla Nicole Responds To Claims She Shaded Taylor Swift

Maybe there isn’t any beef after all, considering Kayla Nicole, Travis Kelce‘s ex-girlfriend, has fiercely denied claims she threw shade at Taylor Swift with her Toni Braxton-inspired Halloween costume.

Kayla Nicole, a fitness influencer and podcaster, ignited online speculation last month after social media users insisted the 34-year-old took a swipe at the “Life of a Showgirl” singer when she shared a clip of Braxton’s popular 2000s song, “He Wasn’t Man Enough.”

For those who might’ve missed the viral stunt, Nicole, who boasts nearly 1 million followers on Instagram, set social media ablaze in late October 2025 when she shared the above clip of herself celebrating Halloween.

The self-described media personality dressed as Grammy Award-winning singer Toni Braxton and recreated the choreography from one of her most iconic music videos.

Nicole was also seen mouthing along to the lyrics of the song, specifically the chorus, during which Braxton sings, “What are you thinking? / Do you know about us back then? / Did you know I dumped your husband, girlfriend? / I’m not thinking ’bout him.”

She went on, “But you married him / Did you know I made him leave? / Do you know he begged to stay with me? / He wasn’t man enough for me.”

The post generated significant buzz across platforms, including X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, leading users to praise Nicole in the comments for seemingly winning a feud that many believe began when Swift sang a lyric in her newest single, “Opalite.”

According to The Blast, Swift sang, “You couldn’t understand it, why you felt alone / You were in it for real, she was in her phone and you were just a pose.”

“And don’t we try to love love?” the “Bad Blood” singer continued. “We give it all we got / You finally left the table / and what a simple thought / You’re starving ’til you’re not.”

However, Nicole insisted she wasn’t thinking of Swift or Kelce when she came up with the idea for her Halloween costume, saying on the November 8 episode of her “Pre-Game” podcast that “people will try to project their own narratives.”

“I think it’s very important to say this, in this moment, I am not in the business of tearing women down,” she said boldly.

For Nicole, channeling her inner Braxton was a natural choice, considering she’s “been listening to [her song] since it came out” in February 2000. “I have a very specific memory about it growing up. I had a white best friend. Her name was Taylor, her mom’s name was Pam. And she was the only house I could go over to as a kid because my mom didn’t play them type of games,” Nicole said during her show.

She added, “I specifically remember driving home from private school in my little uniform in the back of a paddy wagon with Taylor, and her mom was playing this song. [Singing] at the top of her lungs. It was just that ah-ha moment, like wow, white people listen to Black people music as well.”

During an earlier episode of her podcast, Nicole opened up to her guest, Joy Taylor, about the pressures of living in the public eye, including navigating negative comments. She even admitted to “obsessing” over the public’s perception because she doesn’t want to be “triggered” by something someone says.

However, she did explain that she often tries to see the positive side of some of the negative attention, saying, “If you’re going to talk sh-t and run your mouth, please do it so I can pay a bill around here.”

Nicole has been open about the flood of negativity she’s been receiving since her ex-boyfriend started dating one of the world’s biggest pop stars. Not only did she break down in tears during an episode of Fox’s “Special Forces,” but she also opened up to WNBA star Angel Reese about the challenges, revealing that the constant negative attention sometimes affects her.

“I would be lying if I said that that level of hate and just, like, online chaos didn’t impact me. It does. Even to this day,” Nicole said on the “Unapologetically Angel” show. “You can go to my most recent post, and it will be people debating each other why I am worthless, and I’ll never be a talented person, and I have no career.”