Taylor Swift and Katy Perry are among the most commercially successful female artists of all time – and up until recently, they had been entangled in a very public feud lasting several years. So when Taylor dropped the music video for her single ‘You need to calm down’ (from her latest album Lover) on June 14, 2019, fans were thrilled to see former enemy Katy make a cameo appearance. The pair shared a hug while wearing french fries and hamburger costumes, signalling the end of a yearslong feud.
But what exactly caused beef between the former friends? In order to fully appreciate the rekindled friendship of the two pop stars, let’s take a look back to where it all started, what caused the rift, and whether the Katy Perry vs Taylor Swift feud is officially over.
Let’s take a look at a full timeline of their relationship!
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Their Friendship Begins
Both fairly new in the global spotlight at the time, the pair were first publicly photographed together with Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus on September 7, 2008, at the 2008 MTV VMAs. They are spotted together again a few months later sharing a table at the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards.
Exchanging Flattering Twitter Mentions
In early 2009, Katy voices her support for Taylor over Twitter, stating that the ‘Love Story’ singer deserves all the awards in the world, and encouraging her followers to ‘vote for Tay Tay.’ Taylor admits on the same platform that she listens to the Katy’s ‘Thinking of you’ track on repeat a few weeks later. She later declares her love for Katy while watching the music video for ‘Waking up in Vegas.’
Taylor tweets a snapshot of the two in August of 2009, which Katy retweets with a sweet message. The two singers also exchange birthday wishes. The Twitter lovefest continues over a series of exchanges for more than a year.
Taylor Dates John Mayer
From November 2009 to February 2010, Taylor dates John Mayer. John then allegedly becomes the inspiration for Taylor’s song ‘Dear John’.
Performing A Duet And Bonding Over Cats
On April 15, 2010, Taylor welcomes Katy onstage at the Staples Center in LA to perform her hit song ‘Hot N Cold’ together. Taylor doesn’t hold back in praising her surprise guest in a now-deleted tweet.
A mutual love for cats seem to bring the two even closer! In November of 2011, Katy responds enthusiastically to Taylor’s now-deleted Instagram photo of her cat, Meredith.
Katy Dates Taylor’s Ex
Katy Perry and John Mayer spark dating news on August 2012 after they are seen dining together. Their on-again off-again relationship goes on for 2 years.
No Bad Blood…Yet
Despite this, Taylor and Katy appear to still be on good terms at the 2013 Grammy Awards, even though the ‘Roar’ singer was in attendance with John Mayer. There doesn’t seem to be any bad blood between the two, and Katy even fondly mentions her first encounter with Taylor at an iHeartRadio listening party on October 2013.
First Signs Of Trouble
In an interview published by The Examiner on December 20, 2013, dancer Lockhart Brownlie talks about auditioning and booking Taylor’s Red tour after Katy’s California Dreams tour with two other dancers. But just six months into the gig with Taylor, they rejoin Katy for a second world tour for her new album Prism.
“Obviously we were with Katy for 2 1/2 years, she’s like family to us, so we were, like, absolutely” says Brownlie. “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.”
The incident is widely believed to have sparked the rivalry between the two pop stars.
The ‘Bad Blood’ Begins
In her famous interview with Rolling Stone, Taylor explains the inspiration for her controversial single ‘Bad Blood’, released in May 2015.
“For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not.” says the ‘Look what you made me do’ singer. “She would come up to me at award 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?’”
Taylor continues about how the unnamed frenemy ‘did something so horrible.’
“I was like, ‘Oh, we’re just straight-up enemies.’ And it wasn’t even about a guy! It had to do with business. She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me. And I’m surprisingly non-confrontational — you would not believe how much I hate conflict. So now I have to avoid her. It’s awkward, and I don’t like it.”
Soon after the interview was published, Katy tweets a cryptic message that references the bully in Mean Girls.
From Sweet Compliments To Shady Remarks
The sudden shift in their relationship is undeniable – throughout 2014 to 2016, countless shady tweets and quotes were thrown from both camps. The ‘Dark Horse’ singer also seemingly sides with other major celebs who have beef with Taylor, including Nicki Minaj in the rapper’s short-lived rift with Taylor in July 2015.
A Change Of Heart
From May 2017, Katy starts alluding that she is willing to make amends if Taylor apologises.
“I love her, I always have” she tells Australia’s Today. “We’ve had our differences but I just continue to say, ‘God bless her on her journey.”
However, it appears that Katy herself makes the first move. Just before Taylor’s Reputation tour, Taylor shares the literal olive branch and handwritten note sent by the ‘Swish Swish’ singer and thanks her via an Instagram story.
They Achieve Peace At Last!
In June 2019, more than a year after the symbolic gift, Katy posts an Instagram photo of a plate of cookies with the words ‘peace at last’ scrawled in red icing. Taylor responds with a series of love heart emojis in the comment section, and fans were keen to point out that the photo seems to have been taken in Taylor’s kitchen.
To add icing to the cake, Katy appears days later in Taylor’s video for ‘You need to calm down’ where they hug it out at long last.
Katy also discusses ending the drama with Taylor in her appearance on Ellen in September 2019,
“I’m all about redemption and forgiveness and for setting an example for those younger people,” she says about the fans on both sides that started turning against each other. “that it can be cool to ask for forgiveness, and confront someone that you may have an issue with or a problem with and talk it out.”
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