Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was friends with Katy Perry, however, the two stopped being friends following a feud. As of 2018, Perry and Swift have become friends once again. Perry appeared as a special guest at Swift's Fearless Tour show in Los Angeles in 2010 to perform "Hot N Cold". In 2019, Perry appeared in the music video for Swift's single "You Need to Calm Down" from her seventh studio album, Lover.
Feud[]
In 2012, it was reported that Perry had started dating John Mayer, who was Swift's ex-boyfriend. Later, three of the dancers from Perry's California Dreams Tour were offered a place on Swift's Red Tour. During their time on the tour, one of the dancers, Lockhart Brownlie, alleged that Perry's team had asked if they (Brownlie, Scott Myrick, and Leah Adler) would perform on the Prismatic World Tour in 2013. They agreed, although this meant that they had to leave Swift's tour before it had ended. Brownlie explained his reason for taking the job to The Examiner, stating, "Obviously we were with Katy for two and a half years, she's like family to us. So we were, like, 'Absolutely'. We weren't really dancing in Taylor's tour anyway, so I had got a little bored and I really wanted to do a promo tour." Shortly after the dancers decided to switch shows, Swift unfollowed them on Twitter and removed them from her tour.
The feud was first hinted at in Swift's interview with Rolling Stone from their September 2014 issue. She said, "For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not. 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?". Swift claimed that Perry "tried to sabotage an entire arena tour". The next day, Perry tweeted, "Watch out for the Regina George in sheep's clothing...". Following this, Swift said that she would never speak directly about Perry in an interview.
For Katy Perry's Super Bowl halftime show in February 2015, two of her backup dancers were dressed in shark costumes. Later on in the year, during the 1989 World Tour, the Foxborough show featured one of Swift's dancers dressed as a shark. The next month, in August 2015, Swift got into a mini feud with Nicki Minaj. Following Swift winning the MTV VMA Best Video award for her "Blank Space" music video, Minaj claimed that her video for "Anaconda" had not even been nominated because she was not "white" or "very slim". She stated, "If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year." Swift took this as a personal attack, and tweeted, "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", although Minaj later stated her comment was not about Swift. Perry got involved, tweeting, "Finding it ironic to parade the pit women against other women argument about as one unmeasurably capitalizes on the take down of a woman...", referencing how Swift's song "Bad Blood" was thought to be about her former friendship with Perry.
In February 2016, Perry put Swift on the guestlist for a private pre-Grammys party called An Evening To Celebrate The Creators, which hinted that the two may have had a truce. A few months later, Perry's Twitter was hacked, resulting in many out of character tweets being posted to her account, including one claiming she misses Swift. In June 2016, Perry announced her perfume Mad Love, which was taken as a sign that the feud was not over yet, as "you know it used to be mad love" is a lyric from Swift's "Bad Blood". The next month, Swift's ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris, following the drama behind his song "This is What You Came For", mentioned the feud between Perry and Swift on Twitter, stating, "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". Perry responded by posting a gif of Hillary Clinton, as well as retweeting her own May 2015 tweet that said, "Time, the ultimate truth teller".
Nearly two full years later, Perry announced her fifth studio album Witness. When she was asked if it was a response to "Bad Blood", she stated, "I think [my new album is] a very empowered record. There is no one thing that's calling out any one person. One thing to note is: you can't mistake kindness for weakness and don't come for me. Anyone. Anyone. Anyone. Anyone. And that's not to any one person and don't quote me that it is, because it's not. It's not about that. Honestly, when women come together and they decide to unite, this world is going to be a better place. Period end of story". One of the singles from the album, "Swish Swish" featuring Nicki Minaj, was seen as a diss track towards Swift. Swift's friend Ruby Rose did not care for the song, calling it "purposeful poop" on Twitter, referencing Perry's statement calling the Witness era "purposeful pop" after the release of "Chained to the Rhythm".
When speaking to James Corden, Perry blamed Swift for starting the feud, stating, "There's a situation. Honestly, it's really like she started it, and it's time for her to finish it". According to E! Online, she also said, "I tried to talk to her about it and she wouldn't speak to me. I do the right thing any time that it feels like a fumble. It was a full shutdown and then she writes a song about me, and I'm like, OK, cool, cool, cool, that's how you want to deal with it? Karma!" In June 2017, Perry admitted that she was "ready to let [the feud] go". She said, "I forgive her and I'm sorry for anything I ever did, and I hope the same from her. I think it's actually like, I think it's time. There are bigger fish to fry, and there are real problems in the world. You know what I'm saying?". She also told Australia's Today, "I love her, I always have. We've had our differences but I just continue to say, 'God bless her on her journey'".
In August 2017, Swift released the lead single from her sixth studio album, Reputation, titled "Look What You Made Me Do". Perry, although she was hosting the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, conveniently disappeared when it was time to introduce Swift's new music video. Within the scene where Swift is involved in a car crash, it appears that she is imitating Perry. Her blonde ponytail flips over her head, managing to look almost exactly like Perry's new haircut. However, several months later, the feud seems to have truly ended, with Perry sending Swift an olive branch and an apology note. Swift posted a video of the two items on her Instagram story, captioned "Thank you Katy" with a heart emoji beneath. Finally, in June 2019, Swift released the music video for the second single from her seventh studio album, Lover, titled "You Need to Calm Down". Towards the end of the video, Perry appears dressed as a burger, while Swift is dressed as a box of fries. Swift looks around at the chaos going on around her and spots Perry, who appears sad and lonely. The two lock eyes and walk toward each other. They dance together and hug, effectively turning the fighting into celebration.
In 2024, Perry attended Swift's Eras Tour concert in Sydney, Australia; she posted a video of herself singing along to "Bad Blood" alongside a selfie with Swift.
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