All Of Taylor Swift's Shady Friendship Breakups, Explained

As much as Taylor Swift is known for her record-breaking music career, she is also famous for her rollercoaster friendships both in and outside of her legendary "squad." From longtime regulars like Blake Lively and Karlie Kloss to brief attendees like Kendall Jenner and Zendaya, Swift has gathered a large number of famous folks who were integrated into her circle. But not all of those individuals have remained, and some of those friendship breakups have made more headlines than most.

Some have turned into diss tracks, others have turned into public wars of words, and some have faded into the ether of the early 2010s spotlight. But no matter if she holds onto those friendships or lets them go, Swift claims she is always grateful for what they brought her. "It's sad but sometimes when you grow, you outgrow relationships," she wrote in a 2019 essay for Elle. "You may leave behind friendships along the way, but you'll always keep the memories."

Among all of the scandals Blake Lively wishes you would forget, her contentious lawsuit against her "It Ends With Us" co-star and director Justin Baldoni spread beyond the silver screen. It even bled into her friendship with Taylor Swift, who was so close to the actor and her family that she was even named godmother to one of Lively's children. Both starlets seemed thick as thieves and made many public appearances together up until Lively filed a massive lawsuit against Baldoni in late 2024. From there, all of the rumors about Swift and Lively's falling out began coming to life.

Sources claim that after the legal matters began, the pop star felt a shift in her friendship with Lively. Eventually, texts between the two former friends were shared, where Swift called out Lively's alleged treatment towards her. "In recent months had been feeling a little bit of a shift in the way you talk to me," Swift texted the actor (via Newsweek). "It felt like I was reading a mass corporate email sent to 200 employees... I just kinda miss my funny, dark, normal-speaking friend." Since the texts were released, Swift has reportedly kept her distance from her former friend to protect her peace. "Taylor feels like her privacy was impacted," a source told People. "Anyone would be uncomfortable if their private texts were suddenly made public."

Lots has been said about how Karlie Kloss and Taylor Swift's friendship fell apart, even after years of being attached at the hip in the public eye. The pair began gallivanting in front of the paparazzi in 2012, when the singer and the model began posting pictures of their hangouts online. Kloss even joined her friend as part of her infamous "Squad" in the "Bad Blood" music video.

But by 2017, Swifties started to notice a shift in the pair's friendship. Kloss started posting pictures with known Swift enemies like Kendall Jenner and Scooter Braun and made a comment to the press praising Kim Kardashian fresh off of the "Style" singer's all-encompassing feud with the mogul. By the time Swift released her diss track "Look What You Made Me Do," fans were quick to notice that Kloss's name was nowhere to be found on Swift's special "Squad" shirt that included Selena Gomez and Lena Dunham.

While Kloss's actions continued to speak to their separation, she publicly acknowledged Swift as her bestie time and time again. "Taylor is incredible, and I feel really lucky to call her a friend," she once shared on "Watch What Happens Live!" in 2019. While there hasn't been much love shared publicly between the two since then (apart from Kloss making an appearance in the audience at the Eras Tour), sleuthing Swifties have taken some of the star's lyrics and tweets to suggest Kloss and their friendship failure inspired songs on her "The Tortured Poets Department" album.

Once a member of the memorable "Squad," singer Lorde has left everyone wondering whether or not she and Taylor Swift are still friends. In a damning interview with The Guardian, the "Team" songstress compared her friendship with Swift to that of a person with an autoimmune disease. "There are certain places you can't go together," she explained to the outlet. "Certain things you can't do. There are these different sets of considerations within the friendship."

Needless to say, Swifties were none too pleased with the connotations of Lorde's statements. Many also called out a comparison to known Swift bestie Selena Gomez, who has publicly struggled with lupus, and how the comments may have gone over. For her part, Lorde did acknowledge her blunder on X (formerly Twitter). "I feel truly terrible that it would ever seem like I wasn't faithfully her person," she wrote (via Vogue Australia).

Since then, Lorde has not been seen publicly with Swift much, but it hasn't stopped her from praising her former friend. She also clarified her statements publicly by saying that the entertainer had been there for her during both the highs and lows of her life. "I feel truly terrible that it would ever seem like I wasn't faithfully her person," she explained on X (formerly Twitter, via Elle) in an extended social media post.

It's not hard to imagine why, but there's a reason Taylor Swift and Kendall Jenner aren't friends. While the supermodel has been seen publicly among Swift and her "Squad" both on stage at the "1989" tour and in group pics, Jenner's sister (and known Swift shader) Kim Kardashian said she doubts her sibling was ever part of that crowd. "I don't know if Kendall was a part of her squad, I don't think she was," she revealed on "Watch What Happens Live." To make matters worse, Jenner also allegedly liked an underhanded post made by Yael Cohen Braun, the then-wife of music mogul Scooter Braun, who was in his own feud with Swift after purchasing her music catalog and original master recordings.

But the shade didn't stop there. In 2024, Swifties speculated that Jenner may have been dating actor Joe Alwyn, who was Swift's ex. The two were spotted posing for pictures together at a gala event — ironically alongside another of Swift's former flames, Patrick Schwarzenegger. After Alwyn liked Jenner's Instagram recap of the night, the Swift fandom went into overdrive. While there has never been any public confirmation from either camp on the relationship, nor any statements made publicly by Swift, the overall aura of what could've been a potential Swift-Jenner friendship seemed to be doomed from the start.

Ever since making a brief appearance in the Swift "Squad" in the "Bad Blood" video, many have speculated that Zendaya and Taylor Swift are no longer friends. In 2015, Zendaya sang the singer's praises. "Honestly, she's really a sweetheart," she gushed about her new friend to People. "She's definitely someone that is just a really, really nice person, which is cool because she technically has every reason in the world not to be a nice person." But in the years that followed, the "Dune" star inadvertently inserted herself into the Swift-Kardashian drama by liking several posts that many took to be anti-Swift. Zendaya quickly unliked the posts, but the damage had already been done.

Some of these alleged posts included a statement on X (formerly Twitter) that read, "I'm glad Zendaya was never really down with that whole Taylor squad s**t." Another showed the "Replay" crooner on set of Beyonce's "Lemonade" visual album, hearkening back to Swift's initial feud with Kanye West over besting Beyonce at the MTV VMAs. The caption read, "My girl Zendaya knew better."

While neither star has commented on or been photographed with one another since then, there has been some cooling of supposed tension. In 2023, Zendaya showed support for Swift by liking a post of the star posing with Beyonce. So if there's anything to learn about the pair's rocky relationship, it's that things are always made better by the presence of Beyonce.

In one of the most storied feuds in pop history, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift held a years-long fight for the ages. The two were friendly since 2008, but by 2014, some "Bad Blood" was shared. The titular song was revealed to be the ultimate diss track about the singer, in which Swift explained that she felt betrayed by someone who she wasn't sure was ever her friend. But the real issue came from Perry allegedly hiring away backup dancers, which Swift claimed almost ruined her arena tour. As for Perry's response? She very famously shared a one-line retort using a "Mean Girls" reference: "Watch out for the Regina George in sheep's clothing..." she shared to X (formerly Twitter).

In the years that followed, the two traded very public barbs against each other, including Perry's retaliatory diss track "Swish Swish." Perry herself was very public about her comments about the other singer, but by 2017, she called for a symbolic cease fire and wished her former foe well. She even sent her a literal olive branch on the opening night of Swift's "Reputation" stadium tour. The two eventually reconciled, with Perry even making a cameo in Swift's "You Need To Calm Down" music video and showing her support at the Eras Tour. "It was just very clear to both of us that...we had grown up," Swift recalled in a live BBC radio interview (via Buzzfeed).

Finding fame around the same time and age, both Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato have had a rocky relationship timeline. Lovato was famously close with Swift's current bestie, Selena Gomez, in their youth, and both stars were in the same circle as Miley Cyrus. Throw in some Joe Jonas romance rumors and that's prime fodder for a young starlet feud. Lovato famously threw the first barb in 2010, in which she responded "Ask Taylor" to a fan who asked her how Gomez was doing lately.

By 2016, Lovato was allegedly calling out Swift for donating $250,000 in legal fees to Kesha without speaking out about it amidst the singer's legal woes against producer Dr. Luke. "There's nothing positive that comes from pitting women against each other," she told Refinery29 at the time. "There are women that I don't get along with, and that's fine. My thing is, don't brand yourself a feminist if you don't do the work."

Lovato also voiced her support for her then-manager Scooter Braun during his vicious beef with Swift, but by 2019, the long-running feud was quashed by showings of support from each other. Lovato praised some of Swift's latest music on Instagram, while Swift was captured dancing to Lovato's performance on the VMAs. It looks like after all this time, these two are "Cool For The Summer" and beyond.

Within Todrick Hall and Taylor Swift's relationship is both support and shade. After choreographing and appearing in her music video for "Look What You Made Me Do," viral star Hall seemed to fit right into the Swift "Squad." He also served as co-producer and appeared in the "You Need To Calm Down" video. He's shown up in public settings with Swift and friends, and even spent Thanksgiving with the star one year. "She's so genuine, that's the thing," he gushed of his friend to Billboard in 2016. "It makes you want to go donate money or something, like go to a children's hospital or something every time I hang out with her because she's really, really sweet."

But like many other Swift-adjacent friendships, rumors of shady activity supposedly soured the once close relationship. In 2024, Hall was caught "accidentally" liking a post that shared thoughts from musician Courtney Love, in which she claimed that artists like Swift were "not important" in the overall musical lexicon. But Hall was quick to clap back at online users who called him out for his supposed shady behavior. "I am forever on Taylor's side and I guess I didn't even consider that someone would be wild enough to talk poorly about her so I just liked it!," he said of the accidental like on the Instagram story (via Life & Style). Despite the apology, there hasn't been much movement on the friendship front, at least publicly, since then for the two.

Rumors of a rift between onetime friends Taylor Swift and "Glee" star Dianna Agron were complicated by additional rumors of a secret romance between the two. The pair became fast friends at the turn of the 2010s, appearing in fun photoshoots together and hanging out at awards shows. But when Agron's name appeared in the liner notes of the songstress's tune "22" during her "Red" era, fans began to think that the pair were more than just friends.

But Agron eventually downplayed the rumors. "That's more because of a friendship than being the inspiration for the song," she told Rolling Stone in 2023, a decade after the song's debut. "But I would not be the person to ask about that. I cannot claim that!" She also found humor in the romance rumors themselves. "There have been many stories about my dating life that are so wildly untrue," she continued.

While the pair haven't been seen in each other's company for years, rumors of the two women's alleged affair have continued to make the rounds. Some have speculated that the Swift song "Wonderland" is about their romance, and others have pointed to Agron getting her "Alice in Wonderland"-themed tattoo removed as a sign of their breakup. Regardless of what's true and what's not, these ladies made for quite the mad pairing back in the day.