Rob Schneider Under Fire Over Travis Kelce Comment

Actor and comedian Rob Schneider has been criticized online after weighing in on Travis Kelce's appearance in a Pfizer commercial.

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end appears in the ad, encouraging people to get a "twofer"—a COVID-19 shot and flu shot at the same time to combat the spread of both this fall. While Kelce has stood by his inclusion, certain celebrities have spoken out against it. One such celebrity is Schneider, who was once best known for being a Saturday Night Live alum and the star of the Deuce Bigalow franchise. These days, he often makes the news for his opinions on a variety of social and political matters.

COVID-19 is still sweeping across the U.S., especially in the Midwestern and Great Plains states, despite recent declines in case numbers. Maps from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing COVID-19 cases across the country reveal that, as of the week ending October 28, the U.S. had a 9 percent test positivity rate. In the week ending October 21, this was 8.7 percent.

Schneider recently made his thoughts known about Kelce and Pfizer on X, formerly Twitter, where he linked an article from The Epoch Times.

Newsweek reached out to representatives for Kelce and Schneider for comment via email Tuesday.

"Dear Travis Kelce, did you know the @Pfizer drug you are pimping has been found to really hurt A LOT OF PEOPLE?!" Schneider wrote.

"'Nearly 1 in 3 COVID-19 Vaccine Recipients Suffered Neurological Side Effects:' - Study," he added.

People were quick to condemn Schneider's comment, pointing out that the article he linked from The Epoch Times was biased.

One person shared a screenshot that highlighted the fact that The Epoch Times is a "far-right international multi-language newspaper and media company affiliated with the Falun Gong new religious movement."

Others criticized Schneider for spreading misinformation online. "ALL my COVID vaccine shots were Pfizer brand. I have had zero side effects. The vaccines WORK. They save lives," one person posted.

"Rob you're an embarrassment. Shut up already," wrote another.

"Not true just more lies," a third person commented, while a fourth added: "Not sure Travis knows who Rob even is."

While there were those who criticized Schneider's post, there were also posters who supported the comedian.

"Nothing to see here [Kelce's] soul just had a price, the usual," one person wrote.

"He doesn't care...he got $20 million dollars and then they pimped Taylor Swift onto him to push that poison. He has no principles. He is not a man," posted another.

"The price was right. TK [Travis Kelce] doesn't seem like an intellectual that would research and critically think," a third commented.

Schneider has long been outspoken about the COVID-19 vaccine, and this isn't the first time he has tweeted about Kelce's involvement with Pfizer.

Schneider wrote on X on October 24: "Dear Travis Kelce, you shilling for a corrupt and criminal company, @pfizer is disgraceful.

"Knowing that young students who play sports are susceptible to getting Myocarditis from this shot that has been proven to not stop transmission or infection makes you a soulless person."

This rhetoric from Schneider shouldn't come as a surprise. In July 2021, he posted on X, discouraging his followers from getting the vaccine, urging them to "just say no."

"Over Half of the US population is continuing to say no to this unapproved experimental gene therapy! 'My body, my choice!'" Schneider wrote, before concluding the post by invoking the Second Amendment.

X, known as Twitter at the time, flagged the claims in the comedian's tweet as misleading and added a link to a page on "why health officials consider COVID-19 vaccines safe for most people."