Who is Swiftie-bashing NFL player C.J. Gardner-Johnson? From college athlete, to changing his name to Ceedy Duce, body-shaming Taylor Swift and absent-father accusations

Feb 21 , 2025

Meet Swiftie-bashing NFL player C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who changed his name to Ceedy Duce, body-shamed Tay Tay, and has been accused of being an absent father. Photos: Getty Images via AFP; @ceedy.duce/Instagram

From wearing an anti-Swiftie hoodie to posting inflammatory messages on social media, the recent behaviour of the Philadelphia Eagles player has drawn criticism and raised plenty of questions

Philadelphia Eagles player C.J. Gardner-Johnson has waged war on Swifties after seemingly body-shaming the pop star and insulting her relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce leave the field after the Chiefs’ 32-29 victory against the Buffalo Bills in January. Photo: TNS

After his team’s victory against the Chiefs at Super Bowl LIX on February 10, the Eagles safety shared an in-game photo of himself and Kelce on his Instagram story with the caption “‘should’ve stayed with that thick s-t”, in an apparent reference to Kelce’s ex-girlfriend, Kayla Nicole. He later posted a photo of a bikini-clad Nicole along with his original post, which he later deleted.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s hoodie has angered Swifties. Photo: @ceedy.duce/Instagram

The NFL player took it a step further by wearing a hoodie that read “Swifties Can LIX My Balls” during the team’s 2025 Super Bowl celebration parade.

The hoodie was probably a response to Swift fans who had rallied against Gardner-Johnson by leaving negative reviews about a restaurant owned by his mother, Delatron Johnson.

However, Johnson later revealed that the Swifties’ efforts had been futile, because the restaurant closed in January, according to the New York Post.

Here’s everything to know about C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

He was a college athlete

C.J. Gardner-Johnson excelled at sport at high school. Photo: @purefuelsport/Instagram

Born in December 1997, Chauncey “C. J.” Gardner-Johnson, 27, grew up athletic, excelling at football, basketball and track and field during his high-school days.