Every Taylor Swift Celebrity Feud Explained

It's no secret that Taylor Swift has dried the teardrops on her guitar and turned her "bad blood" into millions of dollars of hit records. The Pennsylvania native took the country music scene by storm at just 17 years old when she dropped her debut album "Taylor Swift" in 2006, which included the record-breaking track "Our Song." The song was an instant hit, making her the youngest artist ever at the time to write and perform a number-one song on the "Hot Country Songs" chart. In 2010 she made waves in the music industry yet again when she was the youngest musician to win the Grammy for "Album Of The Year," at just 20 years old. 

While Swift's accolades and musical prowess keep people talking, her personal life generates even more buzz. The "Blank Space" singer has turned every heartbreak and fall-out into a chart-topping song, with no signs of stopping anytime soon. The world has watched her grow up under a microscope, her breakups becoming salacious front-page stories. She said it best when she told MTV, "If they don't want me to write bad songs about them, they shouldn't do bad things." 

Every album from the pop star has brought with it a new chapter, whether she's singing about falling in love at 15 or feuding with Kanye West. One thing is for sure; you wouldn't want to cross her since there's no guarantee it won't be the inspiration for her next track. This is every Taylor Swift celebrity feud explained.

Taylor Swift and Katy Perry share quite a few similarities. In addition to their musical talent, they have the same taste in men, having both dated John Mayer. They also seem to like the same backup dancers, which is what ignited their infamous feud. Swift opened up about her frenemy that was widely assumed to be Perry in 2014. "For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not," Swift told Rolling Stone, "[Then] she did something so horrible ... She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me." The "I Kissed A Girl" singer didn't take too kindly to Swift's call out, and she responded via Twitter, writing, "Watch out for the Regina George in sheep's clothing."

Perry addressed the beef in 2017 on an episode of James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke." She explained that she texted her previous dancers (who were working for Swift at the time) about an upcoming tour she was doing, and when the dancers talked with Swift's management about joining Perry's tour later, they were fired. Nothing was said again until 2018 when the "Firework" pop star sent her frenemy an actual olive branch along with a note that read she was "deeply sorry." Swift posted a picture of the kind gesture writing, "Thank You Katy," and Perry went on to star in Swift's "You Need To Calm Down" music video, ultimately laying their feud to rest.

Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj's feud goes back to 2015 over that year's VMA nominations. The "Super Bass" singer tweeted her frustration about her "Anaconda" music video not being nominated, writing, "If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year." Swift thought that was a dig about her "Bad Blood" music video, and responded in a since-deleted tweet, saying, "@NICKIMINAJ I've done nothing but love & support you. It's unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot." Minaj went on to clarify that her tweet had nothing to do with Swift, blaming the "white media" for its tactics to pit them against each other. 

The "You Belong With Me" pop star attempted to patch things up by apologizing, writing, "I thought I was being called out. I missed the point, I misunderstood, then misspoke. I'm sorry, Nicki." Swift went on to invite the rapper onstage with her, to which Minaj tweeted back, "That means so much Taylor, thank you." The VMA went to Swift for "Video of the Year" for "Bad Blood," but the real highlight of the night was these two artists putting an end to their social media spat. Swift and Minaj performed "The Night Is Still Young" and "Bad Blood" together on the same night, and all was right again in the world of female artists supporting each other. 

Diplo has had a lot to say about Taylor Swift over the years, and he hasn't exactly been singing her praise. The DJ, whose real name is Thomas Wesley Pentz, initially attacked the pop star in 2014 when he tweeted, "Someone should make a kickstarter to get taylor swift a booty." He even went on to tweet a link to a fundraising website writing "Get Taylor Swift A Booty." The Twittersphere didn't take too kindly to his body-shaming. Lorde fired back, tweeting, "@diplo should we do something about your tiny penis while we're at it."

The two seemed to have squashed their beef in 2015 when they posed together for an Instagram photo at the Grammy's. But the drama circled back in 2017 when Diplo's interview for Rolling Stone was leaked, according to Billboard. The DJ had some harsh words for the pop star, saying that her music wasn't relatable to the younger generation. "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,'" he allegedly told the magazine. "I'm impressed with Post Malone. I can relate to him more than Taylor Swift." Lily Allen then called out the DJ on Twitter, writing, "Maybe 40 year old man should stop lecturing much younger and more successful woman." 

In 2019, Diplo admitted to ES Magazine his regret about all the beef with Swift, calling it "the worst decision of [his] career."

No one can forget the infamous moment when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech for "Best Female Video" at the 2009 VMAs. "Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time" became the defining line that ignited their feud. The rapper went on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" after the incident, admitting it was rude and taking responsibility. West revealed to ABC Radio at the time that he called her to apologize, which she accepted. 

The drama seemed to have been behind the two artists, with Swift presenting Kanye the Video Vanguard Award in 2015 and the rapper later sending her flowers. But West was far from "out of the woods" with the pop star.  West debuted his track "Famous" in 2016, which included the line, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex, why? I made that b***h famous." The rapper took to Twitter in since-deleted tweets, revealing that he had gotten permission from Swift, but the "Red" singer had a different interpretation of events.

After Swift continued to throw shade at West, Kim Kardashian released footage of the phone conversation where Swift discussed the track with West, saying, "It's like a compliment." But Swift took to Instagram to share her side, writing in a since-deleted post, "Where is the video of Kanye telling me he was going to call me 'that b****' in his song? It doesn't exist because it never happened."

Taylor Swift's beef with actor Camilla Belle surrounds their shared ex, Joe Jonas. It all started in 2008 when the "Our Song" singer revealed on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" that Jonas broke up with her with a 25-second phone call. DeGeneres quipped, "There are two other brothers to go to," causing Swift to retort, "Oh my gosh! Probably not."

Belle swiftly — pun intended — began dating Jonas shortly after his split with the "Blank Space" singer. Swift put pen to paper and released "Better Than Revenge" which is widely speculated to be about the love triangle. In the song, the pop star seemingly calls out Belle with the lyrics, "She's an actress ... she's better known for the things that she does on the mattress." 

Though Jonas and Belle split up in 2009, the actor never forgot about Swift's digs. She chimed in on Twitter in 2015 during Swift's social media VMA drama with Nicki Minaj. When Katy Perry tweeted, "Finding it ironic to parade the pit women against other women argument about as one unmeasurably capitalizes on the takedown of a woman," calling out the "Love Story" singer, Belle replied, writing, "Couldn't have said it better." But the actor wasn't done beefing with the pop star yet — she chimed in again during Swift's feud with Kanye West. "No need for revenge. Just sit back & wait," read a quote she posted to Instagram at the time.

Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato's friendship turned shady in 2010 when the "Heart Attack" singer was signing autographs for fans in London. When a fan asked the pop star "How's Selena?" she fires back, "Ask Taylor!" Six years later, Lovato took another dig at Swift in the midst of Kesha's former legal battles. Lovato took to Twitter to express her thoughts on Swift donating $250,000 to Kesha by writing, "Take something to Capitol Hill or actually speak out about something and then I'll be impressed," which many took to be a dig at Swift.

She went even further in an interview with E! News when she branded Swift's "girl squad" as unrealistic. Swift's besties debuted in her "Bad Blood" video, and the former "Camp Rock" star commented on how their slender body figures didn't represent a normal body shape. Lovato also spoke out about Swift's former feud with Katy Perry, saying, "I think that having a song and a video about tearing Katy Perry down, that's not women's empowerment." 

Although Lovato defended Scooter Braun in 2019 amidst his drama with Swift, she and the "Blank Space" singer were able to put their differences aside that year. Lovato posted a screenshot on her Instagram Story of her listening to Swift's track "Cruel Summer," writing, "A Jam," following it up with another post, writing, "Life's too short for women to not support other women ... Great job @taylorswift13." Looks like it wasn't a cruel summer after all for the two former frenemies. 

Karlie Kloss was once a part of Taylor Swift's highly coveted "girl squad," before their friendship took a turn for the worse. Their friendship began in 2012, when the supermodel caught wind of the singer's Vogue cover story. Swift admitted she loved the model and wanted to bake cookies with her, to which Kloss tweeted in response, "Hey @taylorswift13 love the @voguemagazine cover! Your kitchen or mine?" 

The two officially met in 2013 at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, and the model gushed to HollywoodLife at the time, "We had never met before, but we're BFFs now," adding "It's nice to meet another American girl. We're the same age and she's so inspiring." The pair seemed to have an epic friendship, road-tripping together and gracing the cover of Vogue in 2015 side by side. 

Things started to get rocky in 2017 when Swift released her video for "Look What You Made Me Do." The pop star sported a t-shirt in one scene with several of her besties' names on it except Kloss's. Though the model tried to dispel rumors by telling Vogue in 2018, "Taylor and I are still really good friends," fans speculate this friendship is on the rocks. Kloss is managed by Swift's enemy Scooter Braun, who the "Blank Space" singer has publicly feuded with over buying the rights to her music. Since it seems Braun and Swift are never going to see eye to eye, we would bet that Kloss and Swift are never ever getting back together.

Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris got together in 2015 and dated for about a year and a half before they split up and their feud began. It seemed like their relationship ended amicably, with Harris tweeting, "The only truth here is that a relationship came to an end & what remains is a huge amount of love and respect," to which Swift retweeted. Shortly after they called it quits, Harris released the hit duet "This Is What You Came For" alongside Rihanna in April of 2016. Swift's team issued a statement revealing that the "Love Song" singer co-wrote the song under a pseudonym. 

Harris clapped back in since-deleted tweets, writing, "Hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage, though. ... I know you're off tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy [Perry] ETC but I'm not that guy, sorry. I won't allow it." 

Fans speculate that the release of the song was the nail in the coffin of their relationship. It got even shadier when Harris stopped by "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" and said, "You know we haven't even spoken about it. I can't see it happening though," when asked if he would consider making music with then-girlfriend Swift. Though the "Bad Blood" singer has the publishing rights to stop Harris from performing the track, she's yet to exercise them.

Taylor Swift has her fair share of haters, given her level of fame and international success. But when it comes to the star's songwriting capabilities — the claws come out. That's exactly what happened when British musician Damon Albarn criticized the singer for claiming she didn't write her music. Albarn, best known for his role as the lead singer of Blur and Gorillaz, caused a firestorm when he told the Los Angeles Times that "[Taylor] doesn't write her own songs." He went on to add, "A really interesting songwriter is Billie Eilish and her brother. I'm more attracted to that than to Taylor Swift. It's just darker — less endlessly upbeat. Way more minor and odd. I think she's exceptional."

Swift took to Twitter to express her distaste, writing, "I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this. I write ALL of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging. You don't have to like my songs but it's really f***ed up to try and discredit my writing. WOW." Albarn responded in his own tweet, apologizing to the pop star and explaining that his words about songwriting had been misconstrued and used as clickbait. 

The Swifties came to the pop star's aid in major ways, and the streaming platform Tidal even posted screenshots that showed Swift as the sole composer of two songs on her album "Red." She also single-handedly wrote every track on her album "Speak Now." 

The feud between Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun is one for the record books. According to HollywoodLife, the bitter feud between the two began in 2019 when Scott Borchetta, who ran Swift's former label Big Machine Records, sold the masters of her music to manager Scooter Braun. The "Better Than Revenge" singer took to Tumblr to address it, explaining that while she expected her masters to be sold at some point, she never expected the buyer to be Braun. "Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words 'Scooter Braun' escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to. He knew what he was doing; they both did. Controlling a woman who didn't want to be associated with them. In perpetuity. That means forever."

The feud dragged on, with Swift donning a shirt with all the names of her old records as she performed "The Man" at the AMAs and Braun vowing not to publicly address the drama. Tensions flared again in 2020 when Big Machine Records put out an album of old live performances from 2008 to which Swift replied on her Instagram Story, "It looks to me like Scooter Braun and his financial backers ... have seen the latest balance sheets and realized that paying $330 MILLION for my music wasn't exactly a wise choice and they need money."

Braun ultimately sold the masters to Shamrock capital in a deal where he gets continued payouts, and Swift re-recorded her albums that were under her previous label to regain control over her music. 

Taylor Swift and John Mayer are two artists who know a thing or two about falling in and out of love — given their many respective songs about it. It's no surprise the two fell for each other in 2009 (Mayer was 32 at the time and Swift was 19)  after collaborating on Mayer's track "Half of My Heart." They were linked briefly between 2009 and 2010 before the Pennsylvania native released her heartbreak anthem "Dear John," widely thought to be about Mayer. The track's lyrics took digs at the artist with lines like "Dear John, I see it all, now it was wrong / don't you think 19 is too young / to be played by your dark twisted games when I loved you so?" 

Mayer didn't appreciate Swift's interpretation of their relationship, and he opened up to Rolling Stone to share his reaction. "It made me feel terrible," he admitted in the interview. "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." Mayer went on to release "Paper Doll" which many fans speculated was about Swift when he sings "You're like 22 girls in one." The "Heartbreak Warfare" crooner even sings, "Someone's gonna paint you another sky," which seems to respond to the lyrics "But I swore I was fine, you paint me a blue sky," from Swift's "Dear John."

Taylor Swift's feud with comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler began with a harmless joke at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards. Fey and Poehler presented together and joked about Swift's love life after the singer had been romantically involved with Conor Kennedy, and before that, Harry Styles. "You know what Taylor Swift? You stay away from Michael J Fox's son," said Fey. "Or go for it," Poehler added. "No, she needs some me-time to learn about herself," Fey said.

Swift hit back at the comedians with her 2013 Vanity Fair cover story that read she had "words for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler." In the article, the "Out of the Woods" singer defended her highly publicized love life that is criticized just as heavily today as it was nearly a decade ago. On the subject of the Golden Globes joke, Swift referenced a favorite quote of hers, saying, "There's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."

Fey responded to Swift, telling Entertainment Tonight, "It was a lighthearted joke." Poehler, meanwhile, dished to The Hollywood Reporter, "Aw, I feel bad if she was upset. I am a feminist and she is a young and talented girl." Things were patched up in 2020 when the "Cruel Summer" singer and the "Parks and Recreation" actor presented together at the Golden Globe Awards, and the feud was put to rest in the same place it began.

Things got "complicated" for Taylor Swift when she liked a tweet in 2015 that depicted Avril Lavigne's fan interactions in a negative light. According to HollywoodLife, The "You Belong With Me" singer favorited a fan-made pic collage that showed Swift hugging and kissing fans while Lavigne stood awkwardly beside one of hers. The "Girlfriend" singer responded by tweeting, "Comparison is judging and judging a person does not define who they are it defines who you are. We all Love our fans."

Swift was quick to respond, inviting Lavigne to join her onstage for her 1989 tour stop in San Diego where they sang "Complicated" together. All was well between the two artists, and Twitter could take a breather from all the drama. Swift and Lavigne keep in touch, and the "Style" singer even sent her flowers to celebrate her seventh studio album "Love Sux," which was released in 2022. "Avril, Been dancing around my kitchen to your fabulous new album!" Swift's Twitter message read. "It's AMAZING, like you." Swift signed the note as a "forever fan." 

Apparently the invite to sing "Complicated" alongside the pop star gave Swift major props. "That meant so much to me. She's an incredible artist and songwriter, she's such a sweet person and has accomplished so much," Lavigne told People of their joining forces. Looks like this feud was deeded as quickly as it began.