Taylor Swift Called Travis Kelce "Metal as Hell," but What Does That Mean?

The Gist:

• Taylor Swift described Travis Kelce's decision to call her out on his podcast as "metal as hell," which meant that she admired the gesture and thought it was hardcore.
• "Metal is hell" is usually used to describe a gesture or action that requires some guts, but pays off in a major way, and that definitely describes how Travis behaved.

Few celebrity couples have commanded as much attention online in recent years as Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs' tight end Travis Kelce. Now that Taylor has been named Time's Person of the Year for 2023, many are focused on a particular turn of phrase that the singer used to describe her romantic partner.

In the interview with Time, Taylor described Travis as "metal as hell," which naturally left many wondering what the phrase means, and what she meant by it when she used it.

According to Urban Dictionary, "metal as hell" is a phrase that can be used to describe something that is "so hardcore that it can only be compared to metal (the music that is)."

Basically, it can refer to anything that seems to be exceptionally gutsy or cool, and it's almost usually meant to describe something positively. Taylor was using the phrase to refer to an action, which is often how it's used.

In discussing how she and Travis met, Taylor said that the relationship started after Travis famously called her out following her concert in Kansas City over the summer. Travis said that he attended, but was disappointed that he didn't get the chance to meet her afterward.

“This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell,” Taylor said during the interview.

Travis's decision to announce that he was disappointed at not getting the chance to talk to Taylor was certainly a ballsy one, but it clearly seems to have worked out in the football star's favor.

“We started hanging out right after that,” Taylor continued. “So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I’m grateful for, because we got to get to know each other.”

Taylor added that by the time she was attending his football games, which caused a media storm all on its own, the two were already firmly together and knew each other well.

“By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple,” she explained. “I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard-launch a first date.”

So, in addition to describing Travis's podcast callout as "metal as hell," Taylor also revealed that the two of them have been dating for roughly five months, which was longer than many people suspected. As long as Travis continues to be both romantic and just a little bit metal, many fans think the couple will have a bright future.