Special Forces’ Cam Newton and Kayla Nicole’s Feud Explained

It turns out Special Forces costars Kayla Nicole and Cam Newton crossed paths (at least virtually) before their time in Wales.

Back in April 2022, the quarterback, now 35, raised eyebrows for his comments about women during an appearance on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast.

“Now a woman, for me, is handling your own but knowing how to cater to a man’s needs. Right?” Newton said. “And I think a lot of times when you get that aesthetic of like, ‘I’m a boss bitch, I’m this, I’m that.’ No, baby! But you can’t cook. You don’t know when to be quiet. You don’t know how to allow a man to lead.”

Nicole, who was dating Travis Kelce at the time, took to Twitter (now known as X) to address the remarks.

“The obsession with women being able to cook is truly comical. Cause it’s like if your palate is so superior date a Michelin star chef then bozo. Pretty sure the average woman is capable of making edible food. How do you think she’s survived thus far?” the influencer tweeted.

Nicole added in a second post: “It’s really not a matter of can she cook — it’s more like does she want to cook for your hungry hippo ass.”

Nicole further addressed the situation via Instagram Live, which was captured by TMZ Sports: “I think it’s foolish that we have to keep having the same tired conversation about the qualities that make a woman of substance. This man said that you need to be able to cook and to be quiet because that’s what his mama did. Like boy, go date your mama then.”

The following day, Nicole clarified her statements.

“I don’t have ‘beef’ with anyone. I have beef with the ideation that reduces a woman’s worth to what’s being put on a dinner plate,” she wrote. “This narrative was publicly shared on a podcast, it’s important for it 2 be publicly denounced. Now if y’all will excuse me, gonna go order postmates.”

While Newton didn’t address Nicole directly, he did claim he was unfairly “scrutinized” at the time.

“You can’t expect so much from a person and give so little. … I should have said on top of what I also said and mentioned that not only should a woman know when to be quiet, a man also should know when to be quiet,” Newton said in a YouTube video. “Whether it’s being whatever you need to be as a human being — man or female — you should be that. And I think not going into depth like I should have cost me.”

“I got daughters,” he continued. “When the day comes when my daughters look back and say, ‘Damn dad, what did you really mean about that,’ I’m not going to cower away and say, ‘Well, that just got threw out of context.’”

Newton has eight kids, including three daughters, with several different women. Most recently, he and girlfriend Jasmin Brown welcomed a baby girl in 2024.

Nicole and Kelce, meanwhile, were over for good in 2022 after dating on and off for five years. He started dating Taylor Swift during summer 2023. On Special Forces, Nicole has spoken about the backlash she has received from Swift’s fans, but she also complimented the Grammy winner.

“I really, like, like her,” Nicole said on episode two, referring to Swift. “I think she’s very talented.”

Special Forces airs on FOX Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.