Are Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift friends? Singers' relationship over the years explored

Pop stars Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift are both superstars in their own right, as they have been making music for over a decade now. Given their fame and genres of music, the two have crossed paths with each other multiple times over the years. Although they were close friends in the 2010s, they have seemingly drifted apart since then.

It is a well-known fact among Ariana Grande's fans that she is close friends with her Victorious co-star Elizabeth Gillies, while Swifties know about her connection with Selena Gomez. However, fans of both pop stars have wondered if they are still friends. Given their closeness in the 2010s, there have been several theories about why Ariana and Taylor grew apart, but they have not made any public statements about it.

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Ariana Grand and Taylor Swift performed at Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2014

The first time Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift shared a stage was at the 2014 Victoria's Secret fashion show, where they were both performing. After the show, Swfit posted a picture with the we can't be friends singer on Instagram, with the caption stating Grande "couldn't be cuter." However, the post has since been deleted, presumably when Taylor cleared out her profile in her Reputation era.

The following year, Grande shared a tweet on X, stating that she couldn't wait "to live in a world" where people were valued for their individual qualities and not by who they were dated or married to. The tweet has since been deleted, but before that, Taylor Swift showed support for the Bang Bang singer's tweet.

"I'm so proud of you, always, but especially today," Swift commented.

According to Ariana Grande's fandom, the Love Me Harder singer was also spotted hanging out at Swift's New York apartment in 2015 once. In 2016, both pop singers still appeared to be close, since they were reportedly seen hugging each other backstage at the Grammy Awards.

When she was interviewed by the UK's Capital FM that same year, Ariana Grande admitted that she would love to join Swift's girl squad. She said that it would be "so crazy," adding that all the women in the group are "so nice."

"Do you have to do anything weird to get in? All those girls are so nice. I would just be so down," Grande said.

In the tragic Manchester bombing in 2017, while Swift was not present with Ariana at the One Love Manchester benefit, the Bad Blood singer showed support on X.

"My thoughts, prayers, and tears for all those affected by the Manchester tragedy tonight. I'm sending all my love," she tweeted.

However, a few years later, it seemed like Ariana Grande and Taylor were not as close as before. While neither pop star has revealed the reason behind this distance, there have been some plausible speculations about it in recent years.

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Katy Perry could be the reason behind a rift between Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift

Ariana Grande and Katy Perry have been friends for a while and Grande even spoke up about it in 2015. She said that the two had shared a bond on the Zach Sang and The Gang show. Grande added that Perry was "very nice" to her when she first put out music and even took Ariana "under her wing."

"Katy was very nice to me when I first put out music, and she took me under her wing was like, 'Hey, if you ever need anything, I can totally be here. She was very welcoming and wonderful," the Thank you, Next singer said.

The Wicked actress further said that it was nice to meet Perry as she was "so successful and so humble and down-to-earth." She also went on to call the Roar singer nice, generous, and welcoming.

While Perry and Swift were once good friends, Taylor's rift with Perry also runs deep. In a 2014 interview, Swift hinted at the E.T. singer doing something horrible to her, revealing that Perry allegedly tried to "sabotage an entire arena tour."

"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," Taylor said.

Because of Grande and Swift's conflicting relationships with Perry, it makes sense that the two might've grown apart over time. Another potential reason why they don't get along anymore could be Scooter Braun, who has managed both Ariana Grande and Swift in the past.

In 2019, Taylor Swift spoke up about Braun preventing her from performing her older songs and later refusing to sell her the older records Swift had created with his record label. The incident also led the Love Story singer to re-record and re-release many of her older works.

While Gigi Hadid and Selena Gomez openly supported the Love Story singer in her stance, Grande, who was a client of Braun's at the time, remained silent. However, last year, the Eternal Sunshine singer also left Scooter's management.

Whether it means Swift and Grande can become friends once again or not remains to be seen. However, fans are hopeful that they would go back to becoming friends.