The Taylor Swift And Zendaya Drama, Explained
If you were a Swiftie in 2014, you undoubtedly remember Zendaya being part of the Swift squad, a group of Taylor Swift's closest celebrities. However, as time passed, it seemed that the relationship between the two stars had soured.
When speaking to People in 2015, Zendaya shared that she and Swift connected through text messages before meeting in person, noting, "Honestly, she's really a sweetheart. She's definitely someone who is just a really, really nice person." That same year, the former Disney star appeared in Swift's music video for Bad Blood," a track widely believed to target Katy Perry. Zendaya further praised her friend during a red carpet interview with Entertainment Tonight, stating, "Anyone who knows Taylor knows that she's just a genius."
However, despite their apparent bond, Zendaya unexpectedly sided with another celebrity instead of Swift during a tumultuous period for the singer. In 2016, Swift infamously got into a feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, which hurt her more than we knew. The drama led Swift to withdraw from the public eye for an entire year, as she shared with TIME Magazine during a 2023 interview. "I pushed away most people in my life because I didn't trust anyone anymore," the star explained. Interestingly, Zendaya appears to have been one of the people Swift chose to distance herself from.
Zendaya's social media activity exposed her anti-Swift stance
As the drama reached a boiling point online, social media users took notice of Zendaya subtly siding with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. Following the release of West's song "Famous," which included a diss towards Swift in its lyrics, the rapper claimed that Swift had prior knowledge of and approved the controversial text's release. In an attempt to support her then-husband, Kardashian took to her Snapchat to share clips of West talking to Swift on the phone about the song, which Swift later claimed was taken out of context. "[Swift] totally approved [the lyrics]," Kardashian stated in a subsequent interview with GQ, adding, "She totally knew that that was coming out. She wanted to all of a sudden act like she didn't."
The entire feud went viral quickly, with Zendaya unintentionally inserting herself into the narrative. Some X (formerly Twitter) users took notice of Zendaya's likes on the social media platform, which included a couple of anti-Swift posts. One read, "I'm glad Zendaya was never really down with that whole Taylor squad s**t." The other post included a photo of Zendaya and Swift posing on a red carpet in 2015 with a group of other women, as well as another snap of the "Euphoria" actor during a shoot for "Lemonade," Beyoncé's visual album. The caption read, "My girl Zendaya knew better." As the story gained momentum online, Zendaya unliked the controversial posts, but the controversy pot was already stirred.
Is there still bad blood between the two stars?
Notably, neither Taylor Swift nor Zendaya have publicly said anything about each other since 2015; they were simply never photographed together again. Some online sources suggested that the two stars weren't on speaking terms after Zendaya shaded Swift, although neither star has ever confirmed nor denied it. Given that Swift has a history of distancing herself from people amid public dramas (for example, she no longer counts Justin Bieber as a friend following the Scooter Braun fiasco), it wouldn't be surprising if she did the same with Zendaya.
However, there are hints that the tension between Swift and Zendaya may have eased over the years. In October 2023, Zendaya seemingly extended an olive branch by liking Swift's Instagram post with Beyoncé, hinting at a potential reconciliation. Still, both Zendaya and Swift do not follow anyone on the platform, leaving their friendship status unknown, at least in terms of social media.
While Zendaya's Instagram activity may have been intended to fly under the radar, anything related to Swift inevitably draws public attention. Since Swift's Instagram comments are disabled, users turned to other platforms to discuss the matter. One X user pointed out that Zendaya hadn't liked any of Swift's posts since 2016, highlighting the importance of the actor's move, while a more skeptical person noted, "It's solely because of Beyoncé." Whether there's still bad blood between Swift and Zendaya remains unclear, but one thing is for sure — Swifties will notice even the smallest of hints.