Entertainment

Taylor Swift's biggest feuds of all time explained – from Kanye West to Katy Perry

By Fournine

Dec 10, 20205 mins

Taylor Swift's biggest feuds of all time explained – from Kanye West to Katy Perry

If you listen to a Taylor Swift album, you'll see that she isn't one to let people off lightly.

The 30-year-old songstress has reached phenomenal levels of fame, and while that might be thanks to her catchy pop tunes, it's also because her wrath against those who have upset her is so enthralling to watch. Whether that be breakup songs with obvious references or snarky tweets.

Here are nine of the most notorious Taylor Swift feuds to date.

Taylor Swift has had highly publicised feuds with other celebs (Credit: PA)

1. Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West

Kanye famously interrupted Taylor's acceptance speech at the 2009 VMAs by grabbing the mic and asserting that Beyonce deserved to win.

They proceeded to make amends, but Kanye caused an upset again with his song Famous and the lyrics that referred to Taylor Swift as "that b**ch". Her album Reputation is full of snide remarks at the rapper and their tumultuous history.

2. Kim Kardashian

They were chummy enough, but Kim ultimately sided with her husband when things got sticky. It all heated up when Kim exposed Taylor on Snapchat proving that she had, in fact, discussed the Famous lyrics with Kanye. She shared a video of the two of them on the phone to one another.

Taylor has always stood by the fact that she would never have approved the lyric.

Taylor Swift has quarrelled with Kim Kardashian (Credit: PA)

3. Taylor Swift vs. street artist, Lushsux

Following the Snapchat expose outing Taylor, satirical street artist Lushsux painted a mural of Taylor in Melbourne, Australia commemorating her "death". The artist says he received emails from Taylor's lawyers ordering the mural be taken down immediately. The resolution to the dispute saw the street art altered to feature the face of Kanye West instead.

4. Katy Perry

This started because of a couple of tour dancers, but turned into a catfight on Twitter, and several not-so-subtle jabs in their respective music videos. To kick it off, Taylor savagely put all her music back on Spotify the day Katy an album in 2017.

In 2020, however, all seems resolved. In 2018, Katy sent Taylor a literal olive branch, and the following year, Katy took to Instagram to post a picture of a plate of cookies. The picture featured the text, "peace at last", and the Firework singer tagged Taylor in the post.

taylor swift She has also taken umbrage with Kanye West (Credit: PA)

5. Spotify

She wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal about how music shouldn't be free, kept 1989 off Spotify, then removed her entire catalogue to prove a point. Since then, she seems to have acquiesced and put her entire music catalogue back on the streaming service.

6. Taylor Swift and David Mueller

Taylor's very public lawsuit against radio host David Mueller was a big win for the star. Back in 2015, he tried to sue her for slander after getting fired when she reported that he sexually assaulted her to the radio station. She countersued him for the assault, won both cases, and forced Mueller to pay her a grand total of $1. You go, Taylor!

Taylor Swift, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian during the 57th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 8, 2015 (Credit: PA)

7. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler

The comedic duo stumbled onto stage pretending to be drunk, and made a jibe at Taylor's public and oft-scrutinised love life during the 2013 Golden Globes. Tina wagged a finger and said "You know what, Taylor Swift, you stay away from Michael J Fox’s son."

The joke was met with laughter from the audience, all while Taylor was allegedly in the bathroom. When asked about the incident in a later interview, Taylor coolly replied by quoting "There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women."

Taylor and Tina seem to be on good terms now, however. They presented the award for Best Animated Motion Picture together at the 77th Golden Globes.

Kanye West and Taylor Swift on stage at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, California (Credit: PA)

8. Her exes

Harry Styles, Calvin Harris, Tom Hiddleston, Jake Gyllenhaal, Joe Jonas and John Mayer are all celebrity exes of Taylor Swift. And their relationships and breakups were highly publicised. Many of them received scathing lyrics, music video references and even song titles named after them in various breakup songs.

9. And all her high school sweethearts

Not even the boys from high school got away with breaking Taylor's heart. She sang that Jordan Alford was a "redneck heartbreak who's really bad at lying". She had "bigger dreams" than Brandon Borello. And, Sam Armstrong? "Even now just looking at you feels wrong." Ouch.

Whether they're well-deserved or just plain petty, you can't deny that Taylor Swift is the queen of savagery.

Advert