From Taylor Swift to Drake: 8 Messiest Hollywood Celebrity Feuds

From Hollywood to the music industry, the world of entertainment is no stranger to drama and clashes amongst its biggest stars. Case in point: the ongoing rivalry between Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber through indirect jabs on social media and the messy rap war between Drake and pretty much everyone in the rap industry (more on this below). Ahead, get acquainted with eight of the messiest Hollywood celebrity feuds, from long-running rivalries to fresh fights.

Taylor Swift vs. Kim Kardashian & Kanye West

When it comes to iconic celebrity beef, the clash between Taylor Swift and former husband-wife duo Kanye West and Kim Kardashian is as notorious as it gets. It all started when West infamously interrupted Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards and then name-dropped the pop star in his song Famous. 

The conflict escalated when Kardashian leaked snippets of a phone call between Swift and West, leading the internet to publicly cancel the singer and flood her social media with snake emojis. The feud (among other things) proved too much for Swift, who hid herself from the public limelight for a year until 2017’s Reputation. In an interview with Time Magazine, the singer recalls the feud as a “career death.”

In 2016 Kim Kardashian posted an edited phone call between Taylor Swift and Kanye West in which she was called a liar and a snake for by the media. pic.twitter.com/MXe9gUdVbE

— logan💛⚓️🦪🌊🥥🪼🫐 (@callmebylogan) April 26, 2024

After Swift’s triumphant return with Reputation, it seemed like the Kimye drama had been put to rest. However, the singer recently reignited the bad blood with Kardashian through her song thanK you aIMee in her new album, The Tortured Poets Department. The song’s capitalised letters ‘K’, ‘I’, and ‘M’ portray ‘Aimee’ as a school bully, suggesting that hatchets are not buried just yet…

Drake vs. The rap community 

2024 has not been a good year for Drake so far. We’re only entering May and the rap mogul has already found himself in multiple rap beefs, catching strays left and right. Hip-hop fans have been intensely following the drama, dissecting every diss track released thus far. Since the explosive release of Metro Boomin and Future’s album, We Don’t Trust You, a cold war has erupted in the rap industry.

we really witnessing the first rap civil war pic.twitter.com/4YBzAIRbnI

— juju 💰 (@ayeejuju) April 20, 2024

In it, the pair alongside other notable acts such as Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd, take aim at Drake and J. Cole. On 5 April, Cole fired back at Lamar with 7-Minute Drill, but later retracted his diss, issuing a heavily mocked public apology. On 9 April, Future and Metro Boomin dropped a follow-up, We Still Don’t Trust You, with tracks featuring Cole and The Weeknd, who jabbed at Drake’s label OVO Sound. 

Drake finally responded to all the drama with Push Ups (Drop & Give Me Fifty), targeting The Weeknd’s manager for “blowing Abel’s bread…” and mocking Metro, who he told to “shut up and make some drums”. Metro responded to the diss with BBL Drizzy, a 70’s style soulful track poking fun at Drake’s infamous meme.

However, it’s Lamar who is decidedly spearheading true animosity towards Drake with his lyrical diss track, Euphoria. Just mere minutes after Drake responded with Family Matters on 5 May, Lamar decided to not only retaliate with not one but two diss tracks right after the other. In Meet The Grahams and Not Like Us, Lamar reveals bombshell allegations of Drake’s secret 11-year-old daughter, substance addiction, and engaging in sex crimes. On 5 May, Drake released The Heart Part 6 denying the accusations of being with anyone underage or hiding a daughter. For now, the rap beef seems to be done but hip-hop lovers are keeping their eyes and ears out for any bombshell diss tracks that might drop again.

Selena Gomez vs. Hailey Bieber 

As the famous saying goes, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Gripping the attention of online netizens for the past six years, the rivalry between Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber all centres around one man: Justin Bieber. After breaking up with Gomez in early 2018, the Biebs crushed the hopes of Jelena fans by marrying the Rhode founder later that year.

Since then, rumours of indirect jabs from both parties have surfaced online, keeping the drama alive. Last year, TikToks and eyebrow-related posts made by Mrs. Bieber, featuring the Jenner sisters, added fuel to the fire across social media. It prompted both women to issue statements, encouraging fans to stop the online bullying and death threats. 

Then, feud rumours started again after Bieber posted Beyoncé’s cover of Jolene on her Instagram story on 29 March, writing “whew” alongside the single. The story and the song’s theme of manstealing have reignited issues between the two due to its connotations. With the Biebers now expecting their first child together and Gomez in a happy relationship with Benny Blanco, it’s about time this rivalry is put to bed…

Nicki Minaj vs. Megan Thee Stallion

Once collaborators on the hit track Hot Girl Summer in 2019, Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion have seen their relationship sour over time. The Savage singer faced personal turmoil in 2020 following an altercation with rapper Tory Lanez, who drunkenly shot her in the foot. In a subtle jab towards Stallion, Minaj’s lyrics in Red Ruby Da Sleeze (“that .40 cal a make them dance like a go-go”) featured on her album Pink Friday 2 suggested that the friendship was over.

This year, the tension between rap’s It Girls intensified into a heated feud. Minaj released a diss track Big Foot on 29 January, seemingly in response to Stallion’s song Hiss. The drama arose from a line referencing Megan’s Law, a statute that mandates disclosing information about registered sex offenders. Many interpreted this as a dig towards Minaj’s husband, Kenneth Petty, who is a convicted sex criminal. It’s no surprise that Minaj defended her husband by rapping, “the bitch fell off, I said get up on your good foot”, directly referencing Stallion’s foot injury once again. 

Britney Spears vs. Jamie Lynn Spears

The strained relationship between Britney Spears and her younger sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, reached a breaking point when the latter reportedly became a trustee of a portion of the former’s estate. The Toxic singer’s conservatorship, established in 2008 after her mental breakdowns, placed her financial decisions under legal guardianship. In August 2020, court documents revealed by The Blast disclosed that the younger sibling had been secretly named as a trustee, tasked with safeguarding the pop star’s financial assets for her children in the event of her death. 

In June 2022, the drama came to a head during the singer’s court battle over her 13-year conservatorship. The younger shared on her Instagram stories that she was “proud” of her sister after the explosive testimony but faced backlash for not supporting the #FreeBritney movement. 

The situation worsened on 17 July when the pop star publicly accused her sister of profiting from her career, expressing on Instagram, “I don’t like that my sister showed up at an awards show and performed MY SONGS…”. This likely refers to the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards, where the Zoey 101 actress danced to remixed versions of her sister’s songs onstage. Read more of Britney’s biggest reveals from her memoir, The Woman in Me, here. 

Jojo Siwa vs. Brit Smith

JoJo Siwa, best known as the bubbly and energetic child performer in Dance Moms, recently underwent a massive image rebrand with her edgy song Karma. However, it was revealed to be originally recorded by another artist called Brit Smith. After clips of Smith’s 2012 music video resurfaced on TikTok, her version gained popularity and surpassed Siwa’s, reaching number eight on the US iTunes pop charts. 

Siwa dismissed claims of plagiarism by stating that songs often circulated among artists before release and shared to TMZ, “I also don’t know who Brit Smith is.” While netizens are still discussing which version they prefer, Smith clarified on her socials that “Jojo did not steal my song” and thanked fans for the support, announcing plans to release an album on 17 May. We love a gracious queen!

Kim Cattrall vs. Sarah Jessica Parker

The problems between Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker began during their time on the hit TV show, Sex and the City. Speculation arose over Parker receiving an executive producer credit in the show’s second season, resulting in a salary increase that prompted Cattrall to renegotiate her own. It further escalated when Cattrall chose not to join the third SATC movie due to reported salary disputes.

6 years ago, kim cattrall slammed sarah jessica parker on instagram pic.twitter.com/BXc4Hkb6dp

— popculture (@notgwendalupe) February 18, 2024

Later, tensions resurfaced between the two actresses when Cattrall openly criticised Parker’s condolences for her brother’s passing in February 2018. Cattrall captioned an Instagram post, “My Mom asked me today ‘When will that @sarahjessicaparker, that hypocrite, leave you alone?'”. Despite this, Cattrall has since reprised her role as Samantha in a SATC spin-off, And Just Like That, albeit for a brief cameo and without filming alongside Parker.

Katherine Heigl vs. Shonda Rhimes

The rift between Katherine Heigl and Shonda Rhimes began when Heigl publicly criticised her role on Grey’s Anatomy, the longest-running medical drama series. The actress withdrew herself from Emmy consideration in 2008, citing dissatisfaction with the show’s writing. This criticism strained her relationship with Rhimes, the show’s creator, who later commented that Heigl’s remarks were hurtful to the cast and crew. Consequently, Heigl’s character, Izzie Stevens, was eventually written out of the series.

In June 2023, Heigl and fellow Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo reunited for Variety’s Actors on Actors. They revisited their roles on the show and reflected on their experiences, shedding light on their relationship with Rhimes. Watch the full video above to dive deeper into their insights. 

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