Flavor Flav wears a lot of hats — rapper, reality TV star, and Swiftie. Specifically, he is the King Swiftie, and he isn’t letting anyone come for his crown.
Following the U.S. presidential debate on Tuesday, September 10, Taylor Swift took to Instagram to endorse Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. The next morning, Barstool founder Dave Portnoy — who has said that he is a fan of Swift, 34 —- shared his thoughts in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Flavor Flav attends “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” Concert Movie World Premiere at AMC The Grove 14 on October 11, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. In September 2024, Flav set the record straight on who the real King Swiftie is.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
“As the king of the Swifties people are asking me what I think of her Kamala endorsement,” said Portnoy, 47. “I don’t care at all. People can vote for whoever they want in this country. How somebody votes will never change my opinion of a person. I’m voting the other way but to each their own.”
Flav, 65, caught wind of the post, and set the record straight.
“Actually,,,,” he said in response, with a screenshot of an article in which he was named King Swift.
For years, Flav has been outspoken in his fandom for Swift. Back in January, he revealed how he earned the “King Swiftie” nickname in an interview on Hot 97’s Ebro In The Morning show.
“It started because I got a girl that lives in Detroit and her kids wanted to go to the Eras Tour concert. So my manager got in contact with Taylor Swift’s people and they hooked me up some tickets and passes,” Flav said. “When we walked over to the tent where I was supposed to be at, a lot of these fans were coming up to me — these young kids, man, I’m surprised they even knew who I was! — and they start giving me these friendship bracelets. Next thing you know, I have friendship bracelets all up and down my arm. We were trading bracelets and everything! Her fanbase embraced me, and I embraced them back.”
In an August 2024 interview on the Politickin‘ podcast — which is hosted by Gavin Newsom, Marshawn Lynch, and Doug Hendrickson — Flav recalled attending one of her shows, and raved over her musical prowess.
“I went and saw her show in Hamburg,” said Flav. “She blew that s**t out the water, man. And she gave me a shoutout from the stage. I love Taylor Swift, man, you know her lyrics, she’s real. She writes about a lot of the things that she’s been through. She keeps it real with her fan base and that’s why I support her, big-time.”
So maybe next time, Portnoy will think twice before coming for the king.
