“He was a real jerk that year,” Charles told Jimmy Fallon of the NFL player during his “Tonight Show” appearance.

Why Josh Charles called Travis Kelce a d--- on Taylor Swift music video set

"He was a real jerk that year," Charles told Jimmy Fallon of the NFL player during his "Tonight Show" appearance.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on *Entertainment Tonight* and Popsugar.

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January 6, 2026 2:40 p.m. ET

Josh Charles; Travis Kelce. Credit:

Todd Owyoung/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty; Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Josh Charles had a bone to pick with Taylor Swift's fiancé Travis Kelce, and he wasn't afraid to let him know it.

*The Handmaid's Tale* star recalled how his being a fan of the Baltimore Ravens motivated him to let out some choice words when meeting Kelce during an appearance on *The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon* Monday. Charles met the Kansas City Chiefs star when he and *Dead Poets Society* costar Ethan Hawke made surprise appearances in Swift's music video for "Fortnight" in 2024.

"I've always liked Travis Kelce, I thought he was cool, but that year they beat us in the AFC championship game — they beat the Ravens — he was a real jerk that year," Charles told Fallon during his interview. "So I kind of fell off of him."

Travis Kelce (#87) during the game at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 14, 2025.

Jamie Squire/Getty

In fact, Charles "fell off" of Kelce so much that he didn't hesitate to tell him how he felt when they met on the music video set. "When I met him, I said, 'You know, I always liked you, and this year you were kind of a D-I-C-K,'" he recalled, cheekily.

But Kelce wasn't offended, *The Good Wife* alum recalled. "He laughed, and he said, 'You know what, you're right,'" Charles said.

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The actor shared that he and the 36-year-old NFL star later talked shop about football, which allowed him to make peace with Kelce's trouncing of his favorite team. "He's such a good dude," Charles told Fallon. "I really like him."

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In the "Fortnight" video, Hawke and Charles play mad scientists doing experiments on Swift, as featured artist Post Malone watches from the side in a scene that emulates a moment from Yorgos Lanthimos' 2023 film *Poor Things*. In the film, Emma Stone's Bella Baxter is dredged from the river after dying by suicide, then reanimated by Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), possessing the body of a woman and the brain of a baby.

Ethan Hawke, Taylor Swift, and Josh Charles in Taylor Swift's video for 'Fortnight'.

Taylor Swift/YouTube

Charles gushed about the singer on social media after the music video premiered, sharing a photo from the set on Instagram.

"I’ve admired Taylor for a long time, but meeting her in person took my fandom to a whole new level," Charles captioned the post. "Genuine, kind, approachable, and just an all around stellar human being - Not to mention a kick ass director to boot!"

Hawke also took to his own Instagram account to celebrate the collaboration and its ties to *Dead Poets Society.*

"'Todd' & 'Knox' from DEAD POETS SOCIETY are now PhDs in THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. It’s quite an honor," Hawke wrote. "Thank you @taylorswift for the opportunity to be in the music video for your song FORTNIGHT feat. @postmalone. carpe diem!"

Watch Charles' chat with Fallon above.**

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Talk”