“Swifties”, the name given to fans of megastar Taylor Swift, are known as one of the biggest and most devoted fanbases of anyone on the planet right now.
They are also said to be fiercely protective of the 33-year-old American.
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So Grayson Waller, an emerging star of the WWE wrestling universe, has been wading into very dangerous territory.
And the Aussie is loving every minute of it.
If you haven’t been following along, Waller is a brash Sydneysider who has been making his way up the wrestling ranks while simultaneously doing his best to get his name and brand more notoriety.
Mission accomplished, courtesy of an unscripted beef with the Swifties that has erupted on social media.
It all started on a WWE YouTube show called The Bump when Waller, who is a massive fan of NFL team the Philadelphia Eagles, was asked about Travis Kelce.
If you have been living under a rock or have more important things to do in your life, Kelce plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, has started a very high profile relationship with Swift, and also has a brother Jason who plays for the Eagles.
Prior to his appearance on The Bump, Waller had posted a photo of himself with the Kelce boys’ mum Donna, decked out in Eagles gear.
As he often does, the ever classy Waller used a ranking scale out of 10 to describe the blonde chart-topper.
“Good for Trav,” Waller responded. “I’m not the sort of guy that would settle for a six, but each to their own. For me personally, I like a bit of spice, I like a nine or a 10.
“I know (WWE tag team partner) Austin (Theory) does too, we’re on the same level.
“But good for him for settling and trying his best.”
Cue the outrage and vitriol from “Swifties” over Waller’s description of their idol.
Not that any defence or reason is required here, but it’s still worth pointing for the record that Swift is a fashion icon who has graced countless red carpets and magazine covers.
Oh yes and she’s recently been declared a billionaire.
But back to Waller, who after getting hammered far and wide by Swift’s fans, took the obvious next step – he pushed back much, much harder.
You see, viral spats are not the home of the shrinking violet.
“Big congrats to wrestling fans!” Waller wrote on a post on X. “I always thought you were the ugliest losers on social media, but then I met the Swifties.
“Enjoy the number 2 spot.”
TV host Denise Salcedo, a major fan of both WWE and Swift, went on the Busted Open podcast to discuss the supposed furore.
“I think everyone knows she’s not a six,” Salcedo said. “We’ve seen the photo shoots, the magazine covers, the music videos, the award show dresses.
“If we’re marking on a scale I would say rank-less because she’s the best and the prettiest and the most gorgeous.”
Waller has only continued to feed this moment in the sun he has been craving, even releasing a video on X captioned “I’m sorry”.
“To sum everything up, I’m sorry,” he says in a video viewed more than 3.2 million times at the time of writing.
“I’m sorry that you define yourself by another woman and her accomplishments. It’s kinda sad to be honest.
“Now I’ve got all these swamp donkeys in my DMs saying mean things. Saying I’m a zero out of 10. Hey, leave the roasting to the professionals.
“Stick to trading friendship bracelets like a bunch of four-year-olds.”
That’s a dig at the trend of “Swifties” to trade friendship bracelets, a move adopted by a massive number of fans and celebrities.
Waller has since posted a photo of himself wearing a donkey mask and a Taylor Swift T-shirt, a supposed response to those “swamp donkeys”.
He and Theory also mocked a highly publicised handshake Swift enjoyed with Brittany Mahomes – wife of Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes – at a Chiefs game.
So Waller has found the outlet he needed to gain far more attention.
He has been trending on social media and there has even been talk of a WWE clash in the ring with Travis Kelce.
We’re sure the anger will only continue from Swifties too, particularly after he played one of the singer’s biggest songs during his sarcastic apology video.
“With all this negativity going around, I think it’s time for someone to bring some positivity,” he states. “And that’s what I do. I bring positivity, I’m an inspirational guy.
“For anyone that’s had to deal with this before, I just need you to know, that the haters are going to hate.
“So all you gotta do, is ‘Shake It Off’.
“This song sucks. No wonder you people are so grumpy.”
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