A Timeline of Taylor Swift and Katy Perry's Feud, From Beginning to End

The meanings of Taylor Swift's songs often take some serious decoding from fans, but that wasn't the case when it came to Swift's 2014 track "Bad Blood," from her album "1989." Swift made it very clear that the track was about a feud with fellow singer Katy Perry, and it all went back to some world tour drama. With the release of "1989 (Taylor's Version)" and "Bad Blood (Taylor's Version)," we thought we'd revisit their feud, how it all ended, and where the duo stand now.

The feud itself wasn't really on our radar until Swift mentioned it in a Rolling Stone interview back in August 2014, a few months before "1989"'s original release. The drama, which inspired multiple songs, eventually came to an end when Perry literally sent Swift an olive branch in May 2018 ahead of her "Reputation" Tour. Then, in 2019, Swift included Perry in the "You Need to Calm Down" music video, cementing that the drama was behind them.

Ahead, here's a full timeline of Swift and Perry's friendship, feud, and reconciliation.

Sept. 7, 2008: Katy Perry and Taylor Swift Pose Together at the MTV VMAs
Getty | Kevin Mazur

Sept. 7, 2008: Katy Perry and Taylor Swift Pose Together at the MTV VMAs

The first official photos of Perry and Swift were at the MTV VMAs in 2008. Miley Cyrus posed with them as well.

Feb. 7, 2009: Taylor Swift and Katy Perry Celebrate at the Grammys
Getty | Larry Busacca

Feb. 7, 2009: Taylor Swift and Katy Perry Celebrate at the Grammys

Swift and Perry paired up again at one of music's biggest events.

2009-2011: Katy Petty and Taylor Swift Spend a Lot of Time Tweeting at Each Other
Getty | Patrick McMullan

2009-2011: Katy Petty and Taylor Swift Spend a Lot of Time Tweeting at Each Other

Swift has since deleted most of her tweets, but Perry's remain, and they document a strong and affectionate friendship, with both sides complimenting each other frequently on the social media app. In a 2009 tweet, Perry called Swift "sweet as pie" and suggested they write a song together.

November 2009–February 2010: Taylor Swift Dates John Mayer
Getty | Dimitrios Kambouris

November 2009–February 2010: Taylor Swift Dates John Mayer

And, as you probably know, Mayer inspired Swift's song "Dear John" and some others.

Jan. 30, 2010: Taylor Swift and Katy Perry Attend the Grammy Awards (Again)
Getty | Kevin Mazur

Jan. 30, 2010: Taylor Swift and Katy Perry Attend the Grammy Awards (Again)

The duo posed for more happy photos together in 2010.

April 15, 2010: Taylor Swift and Katy Perry Sing "Hot N Cold" Together
Getty | Kevin Mazur

April 15, 2010: Taylor Swift and Katy Perry Sing "Hot N Cold" Together

Perry joined Swift during one of her "Fearless" Tour stops in Los Angeles, and they sang Perry's hit "Hot N Cold" together. Swift tweeted at the time, "Katy! LA! I will always love you!"

Nov. 20, 2011: Taylor Swift and Katy Perry Are Photographed Hugging
Getty | Christopher Polk/AMA2011

Nov. 20, 2011: Taylor Swift and Katy Perry Are Photographed Hugging

The two looked especially friendly at the 2011 American Music Awards, where they shared smiles and sweet embraces.

Sometime in 2012 to Early 2016: Katy Perry and John Mayer Start Dating
Getty | Kevin Mazur

Sometime in 2012 to Early 2016: Katy Perry and John Mayer Start Dating

Sometime after Mayer's split from Swift, he moved on to Perry. Their romance fizzled out sometime in 2015, and Perry eventually coupled up with her now fiancé, Orlando Bloom.

Feb. 10, 2013: Taylor Swift and Katy Perry Take a Strange Photo at the Grammys
Getty | Christopher Polk

Feb. 10, 2013: Taylor Swift and Katy Perry Take a Strange Photo at the Grammys

Not only is this the first year we didn't see them hugging it out, but this photo is also the only picture of the two from the night of. It would be less odd if they didn't pose for multiple photos together almost every other year.

March 13, 2013: Taylor Swift's "Red" Tour Begins
Getty | Christie Goodwin/TAS

March 13, 2013: Taylor Swift's "Red" Tour Begins

Swift begins the tour for her 2012 album, "Red." Included in the tour's dancers are Lockhart Brownlie, Leah Adler, and Scott Myrick, who all toured with Perry on her California Dreams tour in 2011. At the end of 2012, they auditioned for and booked a spot with Swift. This became the root of the feud.

March 23, 2013: Katy Perry Tweets About 2 Cakes
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March 23, 2013: Katy Perry Tweets About 2 Cakes

Perry gave Scott Myrick, one of the three dancers in question, a Barbie doll cake in 2012 to celebrate his birthday. When he tweeted a side-by-side with a similar cake to commemorate Swifts's "Red" Tour, Perry retweeted, adding, "Mothers [sic] always watching." Was Perry referring to herself? Was the drama already brewing? It's unclear, but it was a strange tweet.

2013: The Tour Dancer Drama
Getty | Larry Busacca/TAS

2013: The Tour Dancer Drama

This is where things really heated up: six months into Swift's tour, the three aforementioned dancers were asked to join Perry again for her Prismatic World Tour. They all agreed and left the "Red" Tour in the middle of its run. In an interview with The Examiner, which hit the web in December 2013, Lockhart spoke about this decision like it was no big deal: "It was a great experience and [Taylor]'s a great person to work with, but then Katy contacted us. 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.'"

August 2014: Taylor Swift Opens Up About the Feud and "Bad Blood"
Getty | Michael Tran

August 2014: Taylor Swift Opens Up About the Feud and "Bad Blood"

This all brings us to Swift's infamous Rolling Stone interview from September 2014. Swift talked about her new song "Bad Blood" and where the inspiration came from:

"For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not. 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?'" she said. "[Then last year] she 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."

Considering everything there is out there about the tour drama, this would have to be about Perry. Plus, as the quotes allude to, we'd seen them at plenty of award shows. Swift talked a bit about a personal element in the piece as well. The article reads, "(Pressed, Swift admits there might have been a personal element to the conflict. 'But I don't think there would be any personal problem if she weren't 'competitive,' she says.)." While it still seems to be about business, there's a hint of a moment in there where you could see how it might be about Mayer, too.

Sept. 9, 2014: Katy Perry's Enigmatic Clapback
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Sept. 9, 2014: Katy Perry's Enigmatic Clapback

Shortly after Swift's interview hit the web, Perry tweeted, "Watch out for the Regina George in sheep's clothing. . ." There's no context, nothing it could be linked to — except, of course, Swift and her Rolling Stone quotes.

Jan. 30, 2015: Katy Perry Comments on the Feud
Getty | Don Arnold

Jan. 30, 2015: Katy Perry Comments on the Feud

While it's not quite the diatribe Swift went on in Rolling Stone, Perry still addressed the whole thing in an interview with Billboard Magazine, just ahead of her halftime performance at the Super Bowl, in 2015. "If somebody is trying to defame my character," her quote said, "you're going to hear about it."

May 23, 2015: Taylor Swift Tries to Nip the Feud in the Bud
Getty | Jeff Vespa / Axelle / Bauer-Griffin

May 23, 2015: Taylor Swift Tries to Nip the Feud in the Bud

In an interview with The Telegraph, Swift said she was basically done talking about "Bad Blood," in so many words: "I'm not giving them anything to write about. . . . I'm never going to talk about her in my interview. It's not going to happen."

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May 17, 2015: The "Bad Blood" Music Video Premieres

Aside from the fact that Swift recruited tons of women in Hollywood to be on her "team," there are so many possible Perry references in the "Bad Blood" video.

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June 3, 2015: Ellie Goulding Shares and Deletes a Photo With Perry

At the beginning of June 2015, Ellie Goulding shared and deleted a photo from a night out with Lorde and Perry. Lorde has been known to be a close friend of Swift's, and Goulding was even in the "Bad Blood" video. Fans thought it was suspicious, but Goulding said it wasn't that deep. "No, I deleted that because I look bad in it," she told On Demand Entertainment shortly after. "I think I was a bit drunk and I thought it wasn't a very good, um, example of myself."

"I'm great friends with Katy, I'm great friends with Taylor, that's very silly," she added. "I mean, I'm very used to things being made up all the time, so, that's ridiculous."

July 22, 2015: Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry Tweet About the VMAs
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July 22, 2015: Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry Tweet About the VMAs

Swift had a Twitter exchange with Nicki Minaj about the MTV VMAs in July 2015. Minaj called out issues within the music industry after the "Anaconda" music video didn't make the nominations for best video. Swift took Minaj's comments personally, tweeting to the rapper, "I've done nothing but love and support you. It's unlike you to pit women against each other." Minaj quickly replied to clarify her comments, telling Swift it wasn't about her. The next day, Perry weighed in on the conversation, making a pretty clear reference to Swift's tweet when she said, "Finding it ironic to parade the pit against other women argument about as one unmeasurably capitalizes on the takedown of a woman. . . ."

February 21, 2016: Katy Perry Throws a Grammys Party
Getty | Jamie McCarthy

February 21, 2016: Katy Perry Throws a Grammys Party

Just ahead of the 2016 Grammys, Perry decided to throw a preparty that was meant only for creators. "You have to be a creator," she told The New York Times. "It's artists, producers and songwriters." Perry also confirmed that Swift was invited and that it was just up to her schedule whether she could make it. Swift did not attend.

July 13, 2016: Katy Perry Gets Into the Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris Fight

Perry definitely liked to get her feelings out on Twitter during this era. In July 2016, Swift's camp confirmed she helped write the then-new Calvin Harris song "This Is What You Came For." This inspired Harris, whom she had recently split from, to rant about Swift on Twitter. He wrote in part in since-deleted posts, "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." And, he added, "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."

Perry tweeted a Hillary Clinton GIF shortly after that. She also retweeted a 2015 tweet that read, "Time, the ultimate truth teller." For his part, Harris backtracked on the tweets in a 2017 interview with Billboard, calling it "completely the wrong instinct."

September 10, 2016: Katy Perry Tweets About It Again

During a 2016 fan Q&A on Twitter, one fan asked, "Will you collab with Taylor Swift?" Perry responded, "If she says sorry, sure!"

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May 18, 2017: Katy Perry Drops "Swish Swish"

Perry dropped the third single off her album "Witness," and it appeared to be another shot fired at Swift. Not only does the title kind of sound like "Swift Swift," but the album art shows Perry holding a receipt that says "Karma Coffee & Tea." She later said of the song during an appearance on "The Tonight Show," "I think it's a great anthem for people to use whenever someone's trying to hold you down or bully you. It's a liberation from all the negative that doesn't serve you."

May 22, 2017: Katy Perry Addresses the Feud During "Carpool Karaoke"
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May 22, 2017: Katy Perry Addresses the Feud During "Carpool Karaoke"

The singer appeared ready to finally end her feud with Swift when she dropped by "The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special." Perry talked candidly with host James Corden about her ongoing beef with the pop star, saying, "There's a situation. She started it, and it's time for her to finish it."

She also said that she was ready to wipe her hands clean of the drama and move on. "What I want to say is that I'm ready for that BS to be done," she said. "Now, there is the law of cause and effect. You do something, there's going to be a reaction, and trust me, daddy, there's going to be a reaction. It's all about karma, right? I think personally that women together — not divided, and none of this petty bullsh*t — women together will heal the world."

Later that same month, a source told Us Weekly of Swift's position on the feud, "She honestly wants no part of this, that's why she avoids talking about it. She doesn't want to engage."

June 8, 2017: Taylor Swift's Music Returns to Streaming
Getty | Anthony Harvey

June 8, 2017: Taylor Swift's Music Returns to Streaming

Swift's team announced that she would be returning her extensive music back catalog to streaming services, including Spotify, at midnight on June 9, 2017, the same time as Perry's "Witness" was set to drop. She had previously kept her discography off of most streaming services to protest the business model. Swift didn't mention Perry in her decision, but the timing was interesting.

June 10, 2017: Katy Perry Publicly Forgives Taylor Swift
Getty | Jeff Kravitz/AMA2011

June 10, 2017: Katy Perry Publicly Forgives Taylor Swift

In an interview with Thrive Global's Arianna Huffington, the "Swish Swish" singer said she was finally ready to put their feud to rest. "I am ready to let it go," she said during a podcast interview. "I forgive her and I'm sorry for anything I ever did, and I hope the same from her. I think it's actually like, I think it's time. There are bigger fish to fry, and there are real problems in the world. You know what I'm saying?"

"I love her, and I want the best for her," Perry continued. "And I think she's a fantastic songwriter, and I think that if we, both her and I, can be representatives of strong women that come together despite their differences, I think the whole world is going to go like, 'Yeah, well we can do this.' I don't know. Maybe I don't agree with everything she does and she doesn't agree with everything I do, but I just really, truly want to come together in a place of love and forgiveness and understanding and compassion."

"There's a lot of other things out there in the world that people need to be focused on. God bless her on her journey. God bless her. Honestly," she said.

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June 27, 2017: Katy Perry Teams Up With Calvin Harris

Harris's new album, "Funk Wav Bounces Vol 1.," featured a song with Perry, titled "Feels."

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Aug. 27, 2017: Taylor Swift Releases "Look What You Made Me Do"

After wiping her social media clean, Swift dropped her single "Look What You Made Me Do." While the song is believed to be about her feud with Kanye West, the music video also had subtle references to her feud with Perry.

May 8, 2018:  Katy Perry Sends Swift a Literal Olive Branch
Instagram | taylorswift

May 8, 2018: Katy Perry Sends Swift a Literal Olive Branch

After years of feuding, the two superstars actually called a truce that stuck. Ahead of opening night for Swift's "Reputation" stadium tour in Glendale, AZ, Swift shared a video on her Instagram Story of an olive branch Perry sent to her dressing room. "So I just got to my dressing room and found this actual olive branch," she said in the clip. "This means so much to me." In addition to the gift, Perry also sent her "old friend" a handwritten note detailing how she wanted to clear the air.

June 11, 2019: Katy Perry Makes Peace Cookies

More than a year after sending the olive branch, Perry and Swift bonded over baking. Perry tagged Swift in a plate of cookies, surrounded by the phrase "Peace At Last" written in icing. Swift replied with a series of heart emoji. Bad blood? Not anymore.

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June 17, 2019: Katy Perry Appears in Taylor Swift's "You Need to Calm Down" Video

Perry and Swift put their "beef" aside during the singer's "You Need to Calm Down" music video, where they dressed up as a hamburger and french fries, respectively, and hugged it out.

Oct. 15, 2023: Katy Perry Gives Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Her Approval
Getty | Gotham

Oct. 15, 2023: Katy Perry Gives Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Her Approval

On Instagram, Perry commented, "I ship," under a Vogue post about Swift and her new boyfriend, Travis Kelce.