Punkie Johnson rescued Travis Kelce when he was denied SNL after-party entry: 'You owe me forever, bro'

Travis Kelce might be an NFL superstar who is dating a global pop icon, but he still needed help from Punkie Johnson to get into a Saturday Night Live after-party.

"The crazy thing is, he had come to the show,” Johnson explained during her Tuesday appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers. “We saw him at the show and then he goes to the after-party, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s Travis Kelce.’ And they’re like, ‘You can’t get in bro, you’re not on the list.’”

In Kelce’s defense, the incident occurred before he made his SNL hosting debut (or began his relationship with the ever-recognizable Taylor Swift), though he was already a Super Bowl champ at the time. Still, security denied him entry at the door. 

The way Johnson puts it, she was stumped when Kelce made no moves to assert his celebrity status: “I’m sitting up there like, why isn’t he listing his resume? ‘Cause I’m on SNL, I’m like a D-list celebrity and I would’ve been like, ‘I’m on SNL! I know Lorne Michaels!’ But he was just sitting up there just being so innocent, like ‘Oh my gosh, should I call someone?’”

Naturally, Johnson took it upon herself to teach Kelce the ways of an up-and-coming star. 

“I went over there and I was like, ‘This is a Super Bowl Champion! He is doggone the greatest tight end in the doggone NFL!’ I said everything he should’ve said. I was like, ‘He’s on my list, come on Travis!’”

Johnson’s interference was a success, and also marked the origins of a beautiful friendship. Whether Kelce wanted it to or not. “We became friends, like forceful friends,” Johnson joked. “I was like, ‘You’re gonna take pictures with me every time you see me. I’m gonna be heavily a part of your life. We’re having children together — like you owe me for this party forever, bro.’”

The duo went on to work together when Kelce hosted SNL in March 2023. Johnson previously discussed her friendship with the NFL star in the aftermath of his surprise SNL appearance in October. During a sketch addressing his girlfriend’s consistent appearances at games for the Kansas City Chiefs, Kelce showed up to deliver the punchline. The couple were later spotted at an after-party that Kelce, presumably, had no trouble getting into.

“With me, it’s just like seeing some friends off the block,” Johnson said of their presence the following week, during a Saturday Night Network podcast interview. “We just be chilling. But they so cute. They are very, very cute. And he is a gentleman. I told Taylor, I’m like, ‘Call me if he gets out of line.’ I don't think he is, ‘cause I met his parents, and Travis, he was raised right. He’s a good guy.”

She added, “That’s my boy. Travis could look at me in the street and be like, ‘PUNKIE.’ Like we tight… I love seeing Travis, I wish he was there every week.”

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

• Kansas City Chiefs rom-com trailer spoof seems to reference Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's romance
• SNL's Punkie Johnson eats 1-2 onions every day: 'I mean, my breath, ugh'
• Travis Kelce fumbled the chance to give Taylor Swift his number