The Most Iconic Celebrity Feuds
Written by Gylf Forsberg, Culture Staff Writer, and illustrated by Katie Herrick, Culture Editor
If you’re anything like me, you positively live for drama. Your Hulu queue consists wholly of Bravo television, and you spend way too much time decoding cryptic Instagram captions to unearth the next big blowup.
Last week, in what deserved to be the headline on every news outlet—I kid, we are living in a global pandemic and there are more pressing concerns, but it’s nice to get away from that, okay?—the full unedited phone call between Kanye West and Taylor Swift was leaked.
This leaked phone call adds another layer to the decade-spanning feud between the two which started at the VMAs when Kanye interrupted Swift’s acceptance speech. This new evidence brings forth more questions of, “Was Taylor telling the truth?” and “How much did Kim alter the phone call originally?”
But, to be honest, I’m not here for answers Linda, I’m here for drama. Since I have too much time on my hands, let’s reminisce on some of the best celebrity feuds of years gone by.
You cannot talk about celebrity feuds without bringing up the infamous relationship between actresses Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. The feud between the stars of the golden age of Hollywood is iconic and was the basis of the first installment of Ryan Murphy’s anthology series, “Feud”.
It all started when Crawford upstaged what was to be Davis’ first large-scale newspaper film review, announcing her divorce and reducing Davis’ previous one-page review to one paragraph (Dibdin, 2018). This animosity only continued throughout their personal and professional careers. The feud escalated to a crescendo during filming of the two’s first and only film together, “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”
Throughout filming, Crawford requested a body double for any scene which required confrontation with Davis, stating she feared Davis would intentionally harm her. These fears were confirmed when during a take, Davis hit Crawford so hard that it required stitches—although Davis claims that she “barely touched her” (Dibdin, 2018).
Knowing of Davis’ back problems, Crawford retaliated by filling her pockets with stones and wearing a weighted belt to increase the strain of her co-star during a scene where Davis had to drag her (Dibdin, 2018). This remains as one of the most intense, physically battled out feuds in an age before media leaks and subtweets.
Who could forget the original reality television icons, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. Their TV show, “The Simple Life”, was a smash hit and the two seemed to be best friends on and off-screen, seen exiting clubs and parties with fellow hot mess, Lindsay Lohan.
But things didn’t stay sunny in Beverly Hills for long, rumors soon circulated that Richie was getting jealous of the attention that Hilton was receiving. After Richie was not asked to be a part of Hilton’s “Saturday Night Live” episode, Richie hosted a party and explicitly did not invite Paris, concluding the party with a screening of Paris Hilton’s infamous 2003 sex tape (Oswald, 2018).
Needless to say, the two cut ties very quickly, and it’s unclear if they’ve mended their broken friendship since.
Yes, you did read that right. Donald Trump and Rosie O’Donnell have one of the most unexpected feuds on this list. It started much earlier than I expected—in 2006—when O’Donnell criticized Trump’s actions regarding the drug scandal with Miss USA Tara Connor, stating “[He] left the first wife—had an affair. [He] had kids both times, but he’s the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America. Donald, sit and spin, my friend” (Zaru, 2017).
The feud continued in the following years, further escalating during the 2016 election when Trump used O’Donnell as a target for his fiery insults, many times. Since his inauguration, O’Donnell has been one of the most outspoken critics of Trump’s presidency, and although this may not be as prevalent in media currently, it is likely still simmering—and may boil over in the next election season.
Swift is here again—not with a Kimye fight—but with the iconic showdown of two pop princesses: Taylor Swift and Katy Perry. The two pop singers seemed to be closer than cousins, but this all ended in 2014 with their battle for backup dancers.
It is speculated that Katy Perry “stole” several backup dancers from Swift in the time leading up to her Prism tour and Swift’s Red tour (BBC News, 2019). This then exploded into some incredibly petty artistry, with Swift releasing the certified bop “Bad Blood” featuring Kendrick Lamar, to which Perry tried to respond with the travesty that is “Swish Swish”—not even the Nicki Minaj feature could save this song.
This battle of the belters continued with slight subtweets and subtle reads, until it was considered buried when Perry appeared in Swift’s music video dressed up in a hamburger costume. I am doubtful that this hatchet has been buried, however, as Swift intentionally dressed herself as french fries, which is the superior McDonald’s menu item when compared to the McDouble.
Let the battle of the domestic goddesses commence. When Gwenyth Paltrow released her home line, Goop, in 2008, Martha Stewart hopped onto the internet claiming, “If [she] truly believed she was a great actor, she wouldn’t need to release this line” (Fisher, 2014).
Stewart then released a pie recipe titled, “Conscious Coupling,” a slight dig at Paltrow’s divorce announcement that she and husband Chris Martin had a “conscious uncoupling” (Fisher, 2014). As if this wasn’t petty enough, Paltrow retaliated by releasing her “Jailbird Cake” recipe, a dig at Stewart’s time in prison (Fisher, 2014). This feud is the rich version of white suburban moms fighting at the soccer game, and I for one, am HERE FOR IT.
The one feud that truly had me on the fence of who to support. What happens when you combine Tyra Banks’ sheer insanity and Naomi Campbell’s essential, casual reading? Only the most entertaining exchange between two of the most famous supermodels of the 1990s and early 2000s.
This feud was one that was heard across the fashion world, although some may think it’s a bit one-sided. It all started when Tyra Banks was canceled from the Versace show minutes before it started, supposedly because Naomi ordered it to be done (Harwood, 2016). This led to several digs by Tyra towards the supermodel, while Naomi seemed essentially unbothered.
This feud seemed to fizzle out, however, Naomi has read Tyra, and several others, on many different news shows. See, “Naomi Campbell’s Shades Are Really Entertaining”, my favorite video on YouTube.
It was the shoe throw seen around the world. It is a known fact that Nicki Minaj was the queen of rap for much of the early 2000s, so it was no surprise that she felt a bit pressed when Cardi B arrived on the scene receiving critical and popular success. Cardi B, however, being a previous reality TV star, was no doubt familiar with what it takes to create a publicized fight.
After months of subtle shade and reads in rap verses, this brawl became physical at the New York Fashion Week Icons party—which was not attended by Naomi Campbell by the way, stating that “It was called the Icon Party, but there were no icons there” (Penrose, 2018). Cardi allegedly approached Minaj to confront her about supposed lies she was spreading about her mothering habits, which then escalated until Cardi threw her shoe at Minaj.
The fight ended with Cardi B being escorted out of the party, months later followed by an extended rant on Instagram by Cardi. Those posts have since been deleted, and little has been said by either rapper about the state of their friendship—or lack thereof.
Enough said.
Sources:
Emma Dibdin. “A Timeline of the Real Feud Between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.” Harper’s BAZAAR. April 10, 2018.
Luchina Fisher. “Inside the Martha Stewart, Gwyneth Paltrow Feud.” ABC News. Oct 14, 2014.
Erika Harwood. “Tyra Banks Admits She’s Still ‘Very Scared’ of Naomi Campbell.” Vanity Fair. Oct 17, 2016.
Anjelica Oswald. “The 24 Most Heated Celebrity Feuds of All Time.” Insider. July 2, 2018.
Nerisha Penrose. “Nicki Minaj & Cardi B’s Complicated Relationship: A Timeline.” Billboard. Sept 8, 2018.
“Taylor Swift and Katy Perry: A Timeline of Their Feud.” BBC News. June 12, 2019.
Deena Zaru. “The Donald Trump-Rosie O’Donnell Feud: A Timeline.” CNN. Aug 14, 2017.