Celebrity
Taylor Swift’s 18 Most Publicized Celebrity Feuds
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Celebrities have millions of fans. Their massive fan bases are what led them to be A-listers. While there might be countless admirers, there is always a hater for every group of fans. And even celebrities who seem likable and good-natured have haters. Take Taylor Swift. She might have legions of fans and social media followers as well as a massive squad, but she also has to deal with beef. And the list of Taylor Swift's feuds with other celebrities is surprisingly long.
The "You Need to Calm Down" singer isn't afraid to stand up for herself — or speak out if she feels something is wrong. That makes many fans admire her, but it has resulted in some drama with other famous people. Thanks to social media we have seen some of the controversy unfold even more publicly. You might be focusing on one particular fight at the moment given what's going on in the news and on Twitter. Let's take a step back from the current beef and look at all of Taylor Swift's feuds with other celebrities.
Diplo
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Many think that the feud between Diplo and Taylor Swift began with his leaked Rolling Stone interview from 2017. The drama actually started in 2014 when the record producer thin-shamed Taylor. He wrote on Twitter, "Someone should make a kickstarter [sic] to get taylor swift a booty." Lorde came to the "Bad Blood" singer's defense and so did many others. It seemed there were amends between Taylor and Diplo after they were photographed and Diplo shared the image on Instagram. But, then the Rolling Stone interview dropped. Sample quote: "Streaming is literally what kids want to listen to over and over again. They want to listen to 'Rockstar' and 'Bodak Yellow.' They don't want to listen to, like, 'Look What You Made Me Do.'" The interview definitely enraged Swifties. Diplo stated in July 2019 that he uses Twitter as a joke and the situation made his look like an "a**hole" — even if he doesn't see himself as one. Could that be some sort of peace flag?
Katy Perry
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Out of all Taylor Swift's feuds, her drama with Katy Perry has to be one of the most infamous examples. It's lengthy and seems to stem from backup dancer drama and one lady allegedly poaching the other's crew. Diss tracks followed from both parties including Taylor's "Bad Blood" and Katy's "Swish Swish." In 2017, the tide seemed to be turning when Katy said she wanted to make peace. She made good on her promise a year later when she sent Taylor a literal olive branch. Both parties seemed ready to move on from what Katy dubbed "miscommunications." Having Katy appear in Tay's "You Need to Calm Down" video was proof for many fans that the feud was finally over. But, Taylor revealed amends were made before that. So, happy ending?
Scooter Braun
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Prior to this explosive feud, you might have known Scooter Braun for being the talent manager to famous people like Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber. Now, most people probably know him as the guy who majorly upset Taylor Swift. In June 2019, the singer slammed Scooter in a Tumblr post for "incessant, manipulative bullying." She wrote about how she found out with the rest of the world that Braun bought her masters after his label acquired Big Machine Records. She explains how she was reportedly given the choice of buying back one of her old albums at a time for every new record she produced for the label, and how hard it was to walk away. The admission has generated countless headlines. The drama only got deeper with celebrities taking sides.
Kanye West
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Kanye West is someone who openly expresses himself. That includes storming on stage to interrupt people accepting awards because he isn't happy with their win. Yes, we are referring to the infamous "Imma let you finish" moment when Yeezy interrupted Taylor winning her Best Female Video Award at the 2009 VMAs. (She was 19 at the time.) Kanye later apologized for saying Beyoncé "had one of the best videos of all time," but the feud was far from over. There were digs back and forth. Things boiled over again in 2016 when Kanye dropped The Life of Pablo. On the track "Famous" he raps, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b*tch famous." Yeah. Then there was that video which went further with the bed scene. Taylor wasn't going to keep quiet. She responded with her music. See: "Look What You Made Me Do." In 2019, Taylor addressed the snake and bullying in an essay for ELLE.
Justin Bieber
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Justin Bieber was one of the celebrities who got caught up with the big beef between Taylor and Scooter Braun. Taylor included him in her lengthy address. She mentioned how he previously shared an Instagram during the infamous snake debacle of himself with Scooter and Kanye West and captioned it "Taylor swift what up [sic]." As previously mentioned, the Biebs is a client of Scooter's and he has spoken out how he considers Scooter to be a friend and mentor. So, the "Sorry" singer took to Instagram to express his feelings and show his support for his manager. He responded to Taylor's original post about "bullying" and stated that he didn't want to antagonize the situation, but wished everything wasn't being played out on social media. FYI: He included a throwback photo of himself with Taylor. Things get even murkier because fans think that Justin didn't write the post.
Nicki Minaj
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As history shows (and this list demonstrates), Tay has had no shortage of celebrity beefs. There was drama between the "ME!" singer and fellow performer Nicki Minaj. This one stems from another awards show. Taylor's "Bad Blood" was nominated at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards for Video of the Year. Nicki's "Anaconda" wasn't — although it did receive nominations for Best Hip Hop Video and Best Female Video. Nicki seemed to drag Taylor when she tweeted a number of things including, "If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year." Taylor took it as a personal hit and responded saying she has always supported Nicki. Nicki says she wasn't insulting Taylor, Katy Perry somehow got involved in everything, and Taylor apologized to the rapper. T-Swift said that if she won she wanted Nicki to join her on stage. And that is what happened.
Lorde
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It's interesting that we have Lorde previously on the list defending Taylor. She was one of the many members of Tay's squad, but there are reports that the ladies' relationship has soured over the years. In a 2017 Vanity Fair interview, the "Royals" singer famously described friendship with Taylor "like having a friend with very specific allergies." She continued "it's like having a friend with an autoimmune disease." It was meant in relation to the fact there are certain things the pair couldn't do given their A-list status, but it was controversial. Lorde later apologized for being insensitive. Then Lorde covered Kanye West songs at her concerts, including two songs during one performance in 2018. The New Zealander has denied there's any beef with Taylor, but fans wonder about behind-the-scenes drama, especially since the two haven't been photographed together.
Joe Jonas
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Joe Jonas is one of the earliest examples of Taylor Swift's feuds. The two dated and their infamous breakup led to some drama. Furthermore, it made it clear that Taylor is going to talk about her exes in her songs — especially if they did something to disrespect her. If you forget the story, it goes like this: A young Taylor went on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and revealed the Jonas Brothers member broke up with her in a record "27-second phone call." There were barbs flying back and forth in interviews and in many songs. Taylor responded with "Forever and Always" and "The Last Kiss." Joe's musical rebuttal was "Much Better." Over a decade later, Tay apologized for calling out Joe so publicly and he said it "felt nice" to hear it. So, water under the bridge?
Kim Kardashian
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If Kanye West is involved in something, it is likely that Kim Kardashian is going to get involved in it, too. That is exactly what happened with the Taylor Swift-Kanye West feud. Things were already heated, but the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star added her two cents — and some snake emojis. She shared a series of Snapchats which appeared to show a phone call between Taylor and Kanye and her approving of a Kanye song. Taylor responded saying that the Snapchats — along with the phone conversation — never addressed the specific line that made it into "Famous." Taylor haters began using the snake, like Kim, to drag the singer. Taylor went on to reclaim the sssssymbol in her videos and concerts.
Calvin Harris
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We all remember how great things were with Calvin Harris and Taylor when they were going out. Remember the loved-up vacation photos? Unfortunately, the good feelings came to an abrupt halt when the pair split up. It seemed like things were cordial when the DJ tweeted, "The only truth is that a relationship came to an end & what remains is a huge amount of love and respect." But, then those Tom Hiddleston make-out photos were splashed everywhere. Calvin purged his social media of everything related to Taylor, including the breakup tweet. During all this, it's revealed that the mysterious Nils Sjoberg who had a writing credit for Calvin and Rihanna's "This Is What We Came For" was a pseudonym for Taylor. He thought she leaked the information to drag him "like Katy ETC." In November, Taylor drops her Reputation album featuring some references to Calvin. One of the biggest was the start of her "Look What You Made Me Do" video. It featured a tombstone with "Nils Sjoberg" on it.
Demi Lovato
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Demi Lovato has a long history with the Jonas Brothers. (Thank you, Camp Rock.) When Taylor was throwing shade at Joe Jonas over his quick breakup phone call, Demi came to the JoBro's defense. Furthermore, there were rumors that there were strains in the friendship between Taylor, Demi, and Selena Gomez. The Taylor-Demi feud seemed to go on the back burner for a few years, but it ignited in July 2019. Demi sided publicly with her manager Scooter Braun over the Taylor masters drama. "I have dealt with bad people in this industry and Scooter is not one of them," the former Disney star wrote on Instagram stories. "He's a good man." She later said she was taking a break from social media and added "be kind."
John Mayer
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John Mayer was bound to end up on the Taylor Swift feud list. He has a reputation for being a bit of a playboy and it was rumored that he and Taylor have some romantic history. They released "Half of My Heart" together in 2009. In 2012, T-Swift released "Dear John" which pretty much confirmed their relationship and called out John. See: "Don't you think I was too young to be messed with? / The girl in the dress, cried the whole way home, I should've known." John told Rolling Stone he was "really humiliated" by the song. He continued, "Because I didn't deserve it. I'm pretty good at taking accountability now, and I never did anything to deserve that. It was a really lousy thing for her to do." He said he wasn't given a heads up about the song. "How would you feel if, at the lowest you've ever been, someone kicked you even lower?" he asked. So much for things ending well.
Yael Cohen Braun
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You might not know the name "Yael Cohen Braun" right off the bat, but you'll see how she became involved in Taylor Swift's feuds. Yael is Scooter Braun's wife. After the songstress posted her takedown Tumblr post, Yael was quick to come to her husband's defense. In a lengthy Instagram, she refutes some of the singer's claims including the one that Taylor didn't know about the musical merger deal before it was announced to the world. One of the harshest lines was, "Who are you to talk about bullying? The world has watched you collect and drop friends like wilted flowers." Those are some fighting words.
Karlie Kloss
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Like with Lorde, Swifties have wondered whether there was private drama between Taylor and Karlie Kloss. The two were once always photographed together, but then things seem to have gone very quiet. Karlie has denied that there was any hate between her and the singer on multiple occasions. But, Taylor was noticeably absent at the supermodel's wedding to Joshua Kushner. Then the two hung out for the first time publicly in a year in 2018. During Watch What Happens Live in March 2019, the Project Runway host responded to a fan's question about how they thought Taylor's ELLE bully essay about "banishing drama" was a reference to her. She also 'liked' Yael's Instagram about Taylor's treating her friends like wilted flowers.
Amy Poehler
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Amy Poehler in a feud with someone? It doesn't seem like the sort of thing that the funny woman would get embroiled in, but she found herself on the wrong side of Taylor. At the 2013 Golden Globes, hosts Amy and Tina Fey made a wisecrack about Taylor's dating life and how she should "stay away from Michael J. Fox's son." (The pop star had recently broken up with Connor Kennedy and Harry Styles.) Taylor not-so-subtly responded two months later in a Vanity Fair interview by referencing one of her favorite quotes, "There's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women." Amy confronted the situation head on and tried to put her signature comedic spin on it. "Aw, I feel bad if she was upset. I am a feminist and she is a young and talented girl," she said to Hollywood Reporter. "That being said, I do agree I am going to hell. But for other reasons. Mostly boring tax stuff."
Hailey Baldwin Bieber
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Hailey Baldwin is not a member of Taylor's squad and it seems like she never will be. In 2016, the blonde beauty said in a Yahoo! Lifestyle interview that she did not understand the whole squad concept. "I don't think that you need to create a public squad," she elaborated. "I don't know what that proves." And in 2017, Biebs' wife liked a tweet about "smacking" Taylor. The model and Justin Bieber also spent their Fourth of July with Scooter Braun right in the middle of the masters drama. Actions can sometimes speak louder than words.
Miley Cyrus
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Wouldn't it be nice if all performers could just get along? It's too bad that things aren't that simple. It is also why we have to add Miley Cyrus to the list of Taylor Swift's feuds. The former Hannah Montana star isn't shy about garnering controversy. Miley spoke out in 2015 in a New York Times article about how she didn't have any interest in being in T-Swift's squad. In 2018, 'Miley' liked a video that said everything Britney Spears did Taylor has now done better. Some could have taken it in a complimentary fashion, but many people thought it meant trouble was brewing between Miley and Taylor.
Tina Fey
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You didn't expect Amy Poehler to be involved in the Taylor Swift feud all by herself did you? Tina Fey was technically the one who said the songstress should stay away from Michael J. Fox's son while Amy said "Or, go for it." After Taylor's Vanity Fair interview, Tina stated she was surprised by the "Bad Blood" singer's reaction and said the comment was a joke meant in a "crazy aunt spirit." That wasn't it. At the 2014 Golden Globes, the comedienne brought the feud up again telling Amy after she won an award, "I love you, and there's a special place in hell for you!" It wouldn't be the last time Tina riffed on Taylor.