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Taylor Swift has evolved to be one of the most popular pop stars of this generation. Her fame has increased exponentially after the advent of 2023's Eras Tour. The record-breaking endeavor grossed over $1 billion by the end of 2023, making it the most successful concert tour in history.
However, with fame comes controversies. Taylor Swift has been involved in many feuds over the years, including ones with Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Big Machine Records, and the like.
Taylor and Katy Perry's relationship has been topsy-turvy over the years. The duo started their journey as pals, but a rift over some backup dancers ruined things in the middle. In a 2017 interview with James Corden, Katy Perry even accepted that there was an uncomfortable situation between the two pop stars.
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Unlike others, Taylor's rift with Katy Perry has a happy ending. 2018 introduced a literal olive branch in their relationship, and Katy's latest appearance at Taylor's Eras Tour concert reaffirmed the reconciliation.
Timeline of Taylor Swift and Katy Perry's friendship and feud explained
Here is a brief timeline of the major events that took place between Katy Perry and Taylor Swift.
July 2009: Taylor and Perry's first X (formerly Twitter) interaction
In 2009, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry interacted for the first time on X (formerly Twitter).
"Watching the Waking up in Vegas video. I love Katy Perry. I think I'm going to hang her poster on my wall now," Swift wrote.
In reply, Katy Perry tweeted:
However, that collaboration never happened.
2009-2014: Taylor and Katy exchange many birthday wishes and interact in award shows and concerts
The duo seemed to have a friendly dynamic these years, and they interacted in public shows and award functions. In October 2009, Taylor Swift attended Katy Perry's birthday celebration and later tweeted about it.
The two were also spotted at a January 30, 2010 Grammy event. That year, Taylor won Album of the Year for Fearless. Perry also praised Taylor's songwriting skills in a 2010 interview with Nylon magazine. The pop star compared her songwriting style with that of Taylor Swift.
"Sometimes, I really feel like I’m more of a Taylor Swift. She tells stories, and I think that’s why she resonates with a lot of people. She hits the hidden chord in them [where they say], 'Oh my God, I've been through that too,' or, 'You said it in a way I could never explain, " Katy Perry described.
Perry also showed up to perform a duet with Taylor Swift in her Fearless Tour in April 2010. The two sang Perry's Hot n Cold and rocked the stage together.
2012: Taylor's background dancers jump ship
In a December 2013 interview with Australia's The Examiner, Taylor's accompanying dancer, Lockhart Brownlie, revealed that he and two of Taylor's dancers used to work for Katy Perry. When Katy Perry's team approached them, they left Swift's Red Tour in 2012 and joined Katy Perry's Prism Tour.
"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," he said to the outlet.
Lockhart Brownlie further elaborated that Taylor Swift was hard to reach and was a lot more 'protected' than Katy.
"Taylor is very untouchable. When we did see her, we had so much fun with her, but she's a lot more protected than Katy," he added.
September 2014: Taylor says that Bad Blood is about a woman in the industry. Perry replies
During an interview with Rolling Stone on September 8, 2014, Taylor was asked about the inspiration behind Bad Blood. The Grammy winner replied that it was about a woman in the industry.
The 34-year-old explained that this mystery woman did something terrible to her and tried to sabotage her business. She referred to her relationship with her as "straight-up enemies" and alleged that the person had tried to sabotage Taylor's tour by hiring some people behind her back.
Fans assumed that she was referring to Katy Perry. When this story went public, Katy Perry tweeted, "Watch out for the Regina George in sheep's clothing..."
When asked about her tweet during her appearance at the 2015 Super Bowl, she commented, "If somebody is trying to defame my character, you're going to hear about it."
July 2016: Taylor's then-ex Calvin Harris weighs in on the Taylor-Katy fiasco
On July 13, 2016, Taylor Swift's then-ex Calvin Harris weighed in on the Taylor Swift-Katy Perry drama. In a thread of since-deleted tweets, he talked about his problems with Taylor's PR, revealing that she was the writer of Haris and Rihanna's song, This Is What You Came For, under the moniker of Nils Sjoberg.
"Hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage though," he tweeted. "I figure if you're happy in your new relationship you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down for something to do."
Thereafter, he turned his canon toward Taylor Swift.
"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," he tweeted about Taylor and Katy.
In response, Katy tweeted, "Time, the ultimate truth teller."
Two months later, a fan asked Katy whether she would collaborate with Taylor Swift. In response, the 39-year-old said:
"If she says sorry, sure!"
May 2017: Katy gets candid in an interview with James Corden
In a May 2017 interview on James Corden's Late Late Show, Katy Perry was asked about her rumor feud with Taylor Swift. In reply, she got candid and answered:
"That's true, there is a situation. Honestly, it's really like she started it and it's time for her to finish it."
Additionally, Perry confirmed that the background dancers were the true cause of the conflict. The Fireworks singer explained her side of the story. Three background dancers in her team wanted to join Taylor Swift's tour. Since Katy Perry wasn't on a recording cycle, she gave them permission to leave for the time being.
She also told them that she would be recording in a year and asked them to include a 30-day contingency in their contract with Taylor Swift. Perry explained that if they wanted to join her team after a year, they could.
Thereafter, she narrated how things turned out when she contacted the accompanying dancers before the beginning of her recording cycle.
"So that year came up, right? And I texted all of them because I'm very close with them and I said, 'Look, just FYI, I'm about to start. I want to put the word out there.' They said, 'Okay, well we're gonna go and talk to management about it.' And they did, and they got fired," added Katy Perry.
Perry concluded her statement about Taylor Swift by hinting at a possible reconciliation. The singer said she was done with the feud and wanted women in the world to be together and not divided.
"But what I want to say is that I'm ready for that BS to be done. Now, there is the law of cause and effect. You do something, and there's gonna be a reaction, and trust me, daddy, there's gonna be a reaction. It's all about karma, right?"
Finally, Corden asked whether a text from Taylor Swift would be enough for Katy to forget about the fiasco. To that, she replied, "100 percent."
June 2017: Katy Perry finally addresses the Bad Blood
Katy Perry had an interview with NME in June 2017, during which she addressed her long-term history with Taylor Swift. Talking about her reaction to the fiasco, she said:
"I mean, I'm not Buddha—things irritate me. I wish that I could turn the other cheek every single time, but I'm also not a pushover, you know? Especially when someone tries to assassinate my character with little girls [her fans]. That's so messed up!"
Thereafter, she alluded to her collaborator Max Martin, who co-wrote and produced Taylor Swift's Bad Blood.
"I can't speak for [Max], but he didn't know [who 'Bad Blood' was about].' I'm not supposed to tell him what he can and can't do," Katy said. "I'm very fair; I'm super-duper fair and I'm not one of those people who's like, 'You can't do that because I don't like that person.' Just like you do you, make your own choices... I'm not his mother."
May 2018: The 'literal' olive branch moment
Taylor Swift found a literal olive branch in her dressing room during her first day of the Reputation Tour. It was given to her by none other than Katy Perry to restore peace between the two.
She also found a handwritten note with the olive branch, and we can make out the first line, which starts with, "I've been doing some reflecting on past miscommunications and the feelings between us." Katy Perry finally buried the hatchet and made peace with Taylor Swift.
Taylor Swift talked about this cathartic moment on Instagram and also shared a photo of the olive branch and the note.
"I just got back to my dressing room and found this actual olive branch. This...means so much to me," the Grammy winner said in a video posted on Instagram.
This was the start of the newfound friendship between the two.
June 2019: They celebrate the reconciliation with cookies and a Happy Meal
To celebrate their bond, Katy Perry posted a picture of cookies on her Instagram story with 'peace at last' written in frosting. Taylor Swift was tagged with the caption,'it feels so good.'
The two celebrated their olive-branch moment by literally dressing as a life-sized burger and french fries and hugging it out a week later. It was a shot taken for Swift's music video You Need to Calm Down.
September 2019: The superstars talk about their rekindled bond in separate interviews
Taylor Swift and Katy Perry discussed their reunion in separate interviews in the same month. Katy talked about Taylor in The Ellen DeGeneres Show in September 2019 and referred to the entire feud as 'just a misunderstanding.'
"It was really unfortunate but we made amends and I'm all about redemption and forgiveness and for setting an example for those younger people 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."
Taylor Swift talked about Katy Perry in an interview with Rolling Stone in the same month and explained their altercation through the lens of their zodiacs.
"We were talking about how we've had miscommunications with people in the past, not even specifically with each other. She's like, 'I'm a Scorpio. Scorpios just strike when they feel threatened.' And I was like, 'Well, I'm an archer. We literally stand back, assess the situation, process how we feel about it, raise a bow, pull it back, and fire."
September 2020: Taylor Swift gifts a baby blanket to Katy's newborn daughter
Taylor Swift had a special gift for Katy Perry's newborn daughter with Orlando Bloom. She gifted her a baby-pink blanket, which she had hand-sewn with golden stars, flowers, and 'Baby Bloom' written in cursive.
Perry shared the blanket's photo on her Instagram with the caption,"it's one she drags around for years till it becomes an unrecognizable shred that she keeps in her pocket as a teenager."
Katy Perry regularly meets Taylor Swift at events and award shows and has recently attended Taylor's Eras Tour in Sydney, Australia. Like all fans, she shared the memories on Instagram and talked about her beautiful bond with Swift. The feud seems like a thing of the distant past when we see how close they are at present.
