The Swifties are a loyal bunch. And they will lay their lives down to defend their Queen, popstar Taylor Swift. They can be quite brutal too. Skip Bayless and his wife, Ernestine found this out the hard way.
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Last week, Skip and Ernestine discussed Swift on The Skip Bayless Show. Skip said Swift was, “not hot to me”, while Ernestine stated she “[doesn’t] love her music.”
As you can imagine, Swifties were not pleased with either comment. This put the couple on the defensive during the latest episode of Skip’s YouTube program, where Ernestine made clear she harbors no ill will for Swift.
“I don’t hate her; I have nothing against her. I’ve never met her. She has great music; it’s not my thing… it’s not as though I said they should take her and put her on an iceberg somewhere and ship her out to the middle of Alaska.”
Skip knew Ernestine meant no harm with her words. She was merely “stating [her] opinion.” And he did all he could to help her handle the backlash.
Skip Bayless defends Ernestine from Swifties
Skip dealt with haters throughout his time at ESPN and FOX Sports. He’s not a constant presence in the limelight anymore, but still routinely sees harsh commenters on social media. He knows that’s part of the territory. As a result, he spent a lot of time coaching Ernestine through her first experience with keyboard warriors.
“For the first time in 20 years, you actually shared the hot seat with me. For 20 years… you have fiercely, loyally defended me… you kept trying to justify your opinion to me, and I kept saying, ‘I don’t need to hear you justify because you’re good. You said what you believe.'”
Skip continued giving Ernestine advice moments later, telling her she must learn how to shake off what people could say about her for simply stating an opinion. He acknowledged doing so is difficult, but also believes it’s necessary in the industry.
“If we’re going to do this fairly regularly, you have to adopt the stance that [it’s gonna happen]… you just have to live with it if you believe what you write, say [or] think.”
Ernestine added she’s “doing great” since the initial wave hit her. She said she’s sure “a lot of people” feel similarly to her and Skip, but maybe “afraid to say it” out of fear.
For better or worse, Ernestine now has a first-hand taste of the life Skip has lived for decades. She also knows there’s no one better positioned to help her grow accustomed to everything than him.
