Taylor Swift and Katy Perry feuding for five years over three backup dancers is my Roman Empire. Like, how does that happen? After the seemingly insignificant business disagreement circa 2013, things steadily got uglier and more dramatic for a long time. There were countless interview jabs, social media burns, and of course, “Bad Blood” and “Swish Swish Bish.” (Am I a bad feminist for having both of these on several playlists or does that mean it cancels out?) The icons both ruled pop music in the 2010s, and it was sad to see them arguing throughout the decade.
Fortunately, they eventually made amends with a *literal* olive branch, and Katy recently got an invite to the friends and family tent at the Eras Tour. After she posed for a selfie with the “Karma” singer at the show, fans are wondering about the exact status of Taylor and Katy’s friendship and how they got to this point. I did a deep dive: Here’s a full timeline of their friendship, feud, and reconciliation. Their complicated journey really is one for the pop culture history books.
View this post on Instagram
2008 – Tay and Katie become besties
A young Taylor and Katy posed for photos with Miley Cyrus at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. The pop girlies seem to have bonded around then and started frequently hanging out together at industry events and parties.
April 2010 – They perform together
At her Fearless tour, Tay invited Katy up to sing “Hot N Cold” with her. That feels like actually 14 million years ago.
August 2012 – They have a love triangle situation with the devil (J*hn M*yer)
Anyone who’s ever heard “Dear John” — or “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” for that matter” — knows Taylor dated John when she was 19. Two years after they dated, Katy and John became an item… messy.
September 2014 – Taylor opens up about their drama in that Rolling Stone interview
Ahead of releasing 1989, Taylor spoke to Rolling Stone about the inspiration behind the song “Bad Blood.” She revealed that it was about a friendship breakup. “For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not,” she 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?’”
And then there was the infamous backup dancer incident. “She did something so horrible,” Taylor told the magazine. “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.” Real.
May 2015 – The “Bad Blood” music video left us all changed
This definitely didn’t simmer down the situation… especially with Selena Gomez wearing a wig the color of Katy’s hair and physically fighting Taylor.
May 2015 – Taylor kind of addressed the feud again
The queen told The Telegraph that she didn’t wanna comment on it — and then she totally commented on it. “It’s not real if someone appears to never have any issues with anyone,” she said. “I have my friends. I have enemies.” The tea!! Taylor added that she’s “not nice all the time.”
October 2016 – Things escalate more when Katy goes to a Kanye West concert
This was pretty brutal. Katy went to a Kanye concert and filmed herself dancing along to his song “Famous,” which obviously references Taylor. She zoomed in when he rapped the lyric, “I made that bitch famous.”
May 2017 – Swish Swish Bish
The poetic lyrics of the response song really speak for themselves: “Don’t you come for me / No, not today / You’re calculated / I’ve got your number / Because you’re a joke / And I’m a courtside killer queen.”
May 2017 – Katy uses Carpool Karaoke to talk about the beef
An interesting choice indeed. “There’s a situation,” she said. (We had no idea!) “Honestly, it’s really like she started it, and it’s time for her to finish it. It’s about backing dancers, there were three backing dancers. I tried to talk to her about it and she wouldn’t speak to me.”
She continued, “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!’” Katy claimed that she was “ready for that BS to be done.”
May 2018 – Katy gives Taylor the famous olive branch
Although Taylor was fully in her Reputation era at the time, she did manage to end one old feud. Katy sent her a package with an olive branch and an apology note. “Hey Old Friend — I’ve been doing some reflecting on past miscommunications and hurt feelings between us,” the “Teenage Dream” singer wrote, adding that she was “deeply sorry.”
June 2019 – There is “peace at last”
View this post on Instagram
Katy posted a photo of chocolate chip cookies and a “peace at last” message written in frosting. In her caption, she tagged Taylor and wrote “feels good.”
June 2019 – They need to “Calm Down” with the public reconciliation
I mean… I think this was a bit overkill. Katy appeared in Taylor’s “You Need to Calm Down” music video dressed as a hamburger. Taylor was dressed as french fries, and they hugged. It was all rather random in a video otherwise about standing up for queer people’s rights.
September 2020 – Taylor sends little Daisy Dove a present
View this post on Instagram
After Katy and Orlando Bloom welcomed their daughter Daisy Dove in August 2020, Taylor showed them all some love. She sent a gorgeous hand-embroidered pink blanket with a handwritten note. I really do not understand when this woman sleeps.
February 2024 – Katy attends the Eras Tour in Sydney, Australia
And that all brings us to this moment: the Eras Tour selfie. I’m exhausted. That was a lot. Katy had a grand time at the concert, which she attended with fellow pop girlie Rita Ora. They were jamming out in the VIP section in front of The First Man, Travis Kelce. After the show, Katy shared the adorable selfie and also a video of her singing along to “Bad Blood.” LOL.
