Celebrities Who Can't Stand Taylor Swift
She's undoubtedly one of the most successful singer-songwriters of her generation, but Taylor Swift has also made quite a few enemies along the way. She's been accused of media manipulation, lyrical digs, and the insertion of her foot into her red lipsticked mouth. In August 2017, Swift debuted "Look What You Made Me Do," a track off her Reputation album that seems so vindictive that it begs for a closer look at her long list of famous foes.
Kanye West
Once upon a time, at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, an allegedly inebriated Kanye West interrupted Swift's acceptance speech for best female video to announce that Beyoncé had "one of the best videos of all time." After the incident, he apologized several times, but Swift insisted on dragging it out. She gave seemingly endless interviews about the feud, eventually telling MTV News that she had accepted West's "very sincere" apology. However, in 2013, Vanity Fair reported that Swift had a framed photo of the iconic 2009 VMA moment in her house. (Kinda weird, right?) Anyway, in 2015, Swift and West hugged it out at the Grammys and embraced again at that year's VMAs, where she presented him with a Video Vanguard Award. Did they bury the hatchet?
Nope. In February 2016, West dropped his track, "Famous," in which he raps, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b***h famous." West swore Swift approved of the lyrics, but her publicist sang a different tune. Days later, while accepting the Grammy for album of the year, Swift seemed to take a dig at West: "There will be people along the way that will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame," she said.
This tit for tat is ongoing, with Swift doing what she does best — stirring up drama with song lyrics, and West and his wifey, Kim Kardashian, using their publicity to do the same. Clearly, nobody is shaking it off.
Amber Rose
Amber Rose is no fan of her ex-boyfriend, Kanye West, who frequently disparages her in the press, but even she came to his defense against Taylor Swift and those "Famous" lyrics. "So, I'm not the biggest fan of Kanye," Rose said on her VH1 talk show (via People). "...but I was next to him at the VMAs that year [2009]. I remember the repercussions after that. I remember Taylor's mother and father coming up to us and saying, 'One day Kanye, you'll have a daughter and somebody is going to do that to you.' He was so remorseful."
"And he really went through a lot of bulls**t," Rose added, "and I know that Kanye would never ever go through that again by not calling Taylor and say, 'Heads up, I'm about to go write this verse real quick. Just wanted to make sure you're cool with it.' I know that about Kanye."
John Mayer
Swift had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it relationship with John Mayer around 2009 and crooned with him on his song "Half of My Heart." Whatever went down between them didn't last long and apparently got ugly because later that year, Swift released "Dear John," which contains the lyrics: "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 told Rolling Stone in 2012 that the song "really humiliated" him. "It made me feel terrible, 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 added, "I never got an e-mail. I never got a phone call. I was really caught off-guard, and it really humiliated me at a time when I'd already been dressed down. I mean, how would you feel if, at the lowest you've ever been, someone kicked you even lower?" He added, "I will say as a songwriter that I think it's kind of cheap songwriting. I know she's the biggest thing in the world, and I'm not trying to sink anybody's ship, but I think it's abusing your talent to rub your hands together and go, 'Wait till he gets a load of this!' That's bulls**t."
In a November 2012 interview with Glamour, Swift responded to Mayer's reaction with this: "How presumptuous! I never disclose who my songs are about."
Katy Perry
In 2014, Swift complained to Rolling Stone about a nameless star (who ended up being Katy Perry). "For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not," Swift said. "She would come up to me at awards shows and say something and walk away, and I would think, 'Are we friends, or did she just give me the harshest insult of my life?' [Then] she did something so horrible. I was like, 'Oh, we're just straight-up enemies'... She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me."
Perry told talk show host James Corden in May 2017 that the employees Swift was referring to were dancers, with whom Perry was close, that supposedly had a stipulation in their contracts stating that they could leave Swift's tour to hit the road with Perry when the time came. When the dancers approached Swift's management, Perry said they were fired. She claimed Swift refused to discuss the matter with Perry and instead wrote "Bad Blood."
Apparently, this feud is still raging red hot because Swift put her entire catalog on streaming services on the day Perry released her Witness album, and Swift dropped "Look What You Made Me Do" the same day Perry's "Swish Swish" video premiered. Swift also premiered the music video for "Look What You Made Me Do" at the 2017 MTV VMAs, which Perry hosted. Coincidences? You decide.
Perry also touched on the feud in a 2017 interview with NME. "I mean, I'm not Buddha — things irritate me," she said. "I wish that I could turn the other cheek every single time, but I'm also not a pushover, you know? Especially when someone tries to assassinate my character with little girls. That's so messed up!"
Calvin Harris
Calvin Harris dated Swift for more than a year before their split in early June 2016. During the relationship, the pair collaborated on "This Is What You Came For," his hit track featuring Rihanna. Because they reportedly didn't want to draw attention to their relationship through their music, Swift used a pseudonym, "Nils Sjoberg," in the song's credits. When radio personality Ryan Seacrest asked Harris if he'd ever work with his then-girlfriend, Harris claims he stuck to the plan by answering, "You know, we haven't even spoken about [a collaboration]. I can't see it happening though."
After Harris and Swift split, she immediately moved on to actor Tom Hiddleston, and her team suddenly confirmed that Swift helped write Harris' hit. TMZ reported that Swift's "squad [was] sick of Calvin trashing Taylor and feel he should be thanking her for quietly giving him a smash hit."
Harris subsequently lammed Swift on Twitter, writing, "I figure if you're happy in your new relationship you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down for something to do... 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... I know you're off tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy ETC but I'm not that guy, sorry. I won't allow it." He later told GQ that he had "snapped" when he felt his "one talent in the world [was] being belittled."
Nicki Minaj
When the 2015 VMA nominations were announced, Nicki Minaj tweeted that her "Anaconda" and "Feeling Myself" videos were snubbed in favor of a video that "celebrates women with very slim bodies." Minaj never mentioned Swift by name, but considering Swift had been nominated for video of the year for "Bad Blood," which starred a bevy of her model pals, the world assumed Minaj was taking a swipe at Tay.
Swift took it personally, tweeting at Minaj (via Billboard), "I've done nothing but love and support you. It's unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot."
Minaj responded, "Huh? U must not be reading my tweets. Didn't say a word about u. I love u just as much. But u should speak on this..." Minaj added, "I'm still confused as to why u just tweeted me when I made it abundantly clear..."
The women performed together at the 2015 VMAs, so one might think these ladies were ready to let bygones be bygones. Think again. Immediately after Swift dropped "Look What You Made Me Do" in August 2017, Minaj tweeted, "N***a sit down. Be humble" — a post many speculated was directed at Swift. (It's also worth noting that Minaj provided a verse on Katy Perry's "Swish Swish," which is widely believed to be a diss track aimed at Swift.) Hmm...
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift reportedly haven't been pals since Bieber's breakup with Swift's bestie, Selena Gomez. A source told Hollywood Life, "Justin knows Taylor doesn't like him and never will and the feeling is mutual, but he is smart enough to know not to say anything in public or on social media because he knows all the scrutiny he'd endure... He never expects to be her friend and is not looking to be her friend. He blames Taylor for some of his issues with Selena and that will never go away."
However, the Biebs has waded into the murky waters of Swift's feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. He once shaded Swift on Instagram, captioning a screenshot of himself FaceTiming with Kanye West: "Taylor Swift what up."
Miley Cyrus
In her Hannah Montana days, Miley Cyrus used to be friendly with Taylor Swift, but she does not mince words about her distaste for the "Love Story" singer now. "I'm not trying to be in the squad," Cyrus told The New York Times in August 2015, referencing Swift's infamous group of girlfriends. "None of my friends are famous and not because of any other reason than I just like real people who are living real lives, because I'm inspired by them."
The same month, Cyrus vented to Marie Claire about Swift's "Bad Blood" video: "I don't get the violence revenge thing. That's supposed to be a good example? And I'm a bad role model because I'm running around with my t**ties out? I'm not sure how t**ties are worse than guns."
Camilla Belle
After Joe Jonas allegedly dumped Taylor Swift in an infamous 27-second phone call in November 2008, he moved on with actress Camilla Belle. Swift allegedly shaded Belle in her 2010 song "Better Than Revenge," singing, "She's an actress / She's better known for the things that she does on the mattress."
Belle didn't forget it. In 2015, when Katy Perry tweeted about Swift capitalizing on pitting women against one another, Belle replied, "Couldn't have said it better." When Kardashian and West exposed Swift's alleged double-talk in 2016, Belle posted a quote on Instagram (via the Daily Mail) that read: "No need for revenge. Just sit back & wait. Those who hurt you will eventually screw up themselves & if you're lucky, God will let you watch."
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler
At the 2013 Golden Globes, hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler poked fun at Taylor Swift's serial dater reputation, saying onstage that the singer should "stay away from Michael J. Fox's son" and "use some 'me time' to learn about herself."
After the show, Swift discussed that comedic bit with Vanity Fair, but she apparently didn't think it was funny. "You know, Katie Couric is one of my favorite people because she said to me she had heard a quote that she loved that said, 'There's a special place in Hell for women who don't help other women,'" Swift told the magazine.
Fey was taken aback by Swift taking the comedy bit so seriously, telling Entertainment Tonight (via The Hollywood Reporter),"I did not see that one coming. It was a joke, and it was a lighthearted joke. And it's a shame that she didn't take it in the crazy-aunt spirit in which it was intended." Poehler told The Hollywood Reporter, "Aw, I feel bad if she was upset. I am a feminist, and she is a young and talented girl. That being said, I do agree I am going to hell. But for other reasons. Mostly boring tax stuff."
Swift's sass earned her some more vitriol from the ladies, notably at the 2014 Golden Globes, when Fey told Poehler that there's a "special place in Hell" for her, as well as in a December 2015 Saturday Night Live sketch and an April 2016 bit in The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. In the latter, character Titus Andromedon quips, "There's a special place in Hell for women who don't help other women."
Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato has had a frenemy relationship with Swift since their teen days: exhibit A is this infamous 2010 video of her quipping "ask Taylor" when asked about their mutual BFF, Selena Gomez. Lovato's distaste for Swift apparently intensified during Swift's 1989 era, when Swift began preaching about feminism and squad goals. "I think in certain situations, certain people could be doing more if they're going to claim [feminism] as part of their brand," Lovato told Glamour in November 2016. "To be honest, and this is probably going to get me in trouble, I don't see anybody in any sort of squad that has a normal body. It's kind of this false image of what people should look like. And what they should be like, and it's not real... I think that having a song and a video about tearing Katy Perry down, that's not women's empowerment."
Lovato also wasn't impressed with Swift's silence on the #freekesha campaign, a movement to support Kesha's legal battle against producer Dr. Luke. In February 2016, Lovato tweeted, "I'm also ready for self-proclaimed feminists to start speaking out or taking action for women's rights." Swift's publicist swiftly released a statement to People saying, "In a show of support, Taylor Swift has donated $250,000 to Kesha to help with any of her financial needs during this trying time." Lovato then tweeted, "Take something to Capitol Hill or actually speak out about something and then I'll be impressed."
Ed Droste
Grizzly Bear frontman Ed Droste, who's close with Taylor Swift's pals from the band Haim, initially expressed some apathy toward Swift in 2012, when he tweeted (via Mashable): "Super relieved Taylor Swift is up for another award. Was worried she didn't have enough! #phew."
In July 2015, he reportedly went on a social media rant about Tay, writing, "I finally feel comfortable expressing my distaste for the rudest, fakest person I've ever met! #liberating... I'm done dragging, but I'm glad people recognize the skunk finally #trust." Alongside a photo of an article describing Swift's alleged hyper-control of her squad, Droste said, "Obsessed that people are catching on... I think this article sums up how people who are 'taken' really feel... she's been given a free pass for too long. Plus, first hand experience... I have a whole other story to tell, still feels unsafe tho. She frightens me genuinely."
Squad members Gigi Hadid and Martha Hunt then went on the attack against Droste, who later deleted his Twitter account amid the barrage of backlash.
Diane Warren
When TMZ cameras asked songwriting legend Diane Warren what she thought of Taylor Swift's hidden messages in her songs and images, Warren was nonplussed. "Oh my God, who has time for this s**t?" she asked. "Really? Look what's going on... I'm not going to take the time to look at hidden messages and that s**t..."