Carrie Underwood Seemingly Made Enemies Out Of These Celebs

When Carrie Underwood first appeared on the public psyche's collective radar in 2004, looking fresh-faced, shy, and palm-sweatingly nervous because she was going to stand in front of Simon Cowell and sing in a drawl that was unapologetically country, few could have predicted that she would grow to be one of the most prominent figures in American music. And even if they did — and Cowell definitely did — no one could have known Underwood's path to the top would be paved with so many controversial moments. Such was the extent of the scandals she has been steeped in that many argue they have actively contributed to Underwood's massive downfall from fame.

Whether it's Underwood's diva behavior at the "American Idol" finale that soured an already fraught reputation, or the numerous shady rumors that that put her good girl persona to shame, one thing has become absolutely clear: Underwood has lost her unchallenged lease to the image of the squeaky-clean country sweetheart that served as a launching pad for her enviable career.

And even if you ignore all the gossip and hearsay, the feuds and rivalries that have accumulated over her long career in the spotlight refuse to die so easily. From whispers that Jessica Simpson was uneasy about her to her competition with Kelly Clarkson and bad blood with Taylor Swift, a lot has been said about Underwood and her rapport with fellow celebrities. Some of these rumors have clearly been exaggerated to fuel social media drama, while others definitely have a little more smoke behind them. We're taking a look at all of them and trying to figure out which of these supposed feuds actually has teeth.

Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback, were one of the most-covered couples during the height of the tabloid era in the mid-2000s. But before the two were an item, Romo dated Underwood for a brief while. The pair even walked the red carpet of the ACM Awards together in the spring of 2007, before eventually going their separate ways.

Underwood later explained that the reason for their breakup was Romo's singular focus on football. When Simpson stepped into the picture a while later, though, everybody immediately had the same idea and started talking about all three in the same breath. Underwood's admission to Allure that she and Romo still talked on the phone didn't help matters. In Touch (via Today) then reported than a source close to the situation claimed Simpson was uneasy about the whole thing, and the tension was taking a toll on the relationship.

Even more damning was the fact that Underwood and Chace Crawford broke up around the same time, technically making her single again. Addressing all the frenzied speculation, Underwood said at at a 2008 event that she's met Simpson once, and "she seemed really nice so I don't have a feud with anybody," per People. Not exactly the kind of denial that makes everyone go home satisfied, but at any rate, Simpson and Romo dated for nearly two years before he called things off, and a day before her 29th birthday in July 2009. Neither woman made the alleged tension a public spectacle, and even now, we're still not sure if it was ever anything more than a natural sense of, uh, territorial instinct — for lack of a better word — on Simpson's side.

Sporting events in the United States are often significant not just for the game and its results, but because of what happens courtside. And while this particular episode has never been confirmed by either party, the internet has trouble letting it go. During the 2006-07 NHL season, both Carrie Underwood and Hilary Duff's then-boyfriends, Mike Fisher and Mike Comrie, respectively, were playing center for the Ottawa Senators. Photos from that season show the two women seated in separate rows, kickstarting rumors that Duff had deliberately avoided Underwood and that the two of them didn't get along.

The chatter mostly resurfaced in early 2025 after Underwood performed at Donald Trump's second inauguration. A lot of people were appalled by the mere idea of the country singer performing at the high-profile event since it involved Trump, and digging through the archives, a viral Threads post reignited the all-but-forgotten connection between Duff and Underwood. The caption reads: "Remember when Hilary Duff refused to sit with or acknowledge/interact with Carrie Underwood? Hilary always stays winning."

Of course, you'd be hard-pressed to find an instance of either Underwood or Duff addressing such rumors, or even acknowledging that they're aware of each other beyond their partners' shared time on the ice. Duff once joked in 2011 (per Today) that she was "envious" of Underwood because her husband got traded to Nashville, while Comrie joined the Pittsburgh Penguins. So maybe, just maybe, two women who didn't know each other that well just sat where they sat, and there was nothing more to it.

Speaking of how the internet has the one-of-a-kind talent to construct an entire beef from a single seating arrangement, we have to talk about the rumored tension between Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. Perhaps no feud in Underwood's orbit has proven more persistent than the supposed rivalry with fellow "American Idol" winner Clarkson, and the rumors have flared up repeatedly over the years. One bout came in 2022, when an anonymous insider told Star Magazine (via OK! USA) that Underwood felt blindsided by Clarkson dropping her "Kellyoke" EP cover the same week that "Denim & Rhinestones," Underwood's ninth studio album, was released on June 10, 2022.

Then there are the claims that Underwood was jealous when Clarkson landed a coaching seat on "The Voice." Back in September 2019, Radar revealed via an insider that Underwood had turned down an invite to appear on Clarkson's talk show and that the latter was livid since there were no "explanations or niceties" exchanged — just a flat rejection. "Carrie was jealous Kelly got a coaching gig on 'The Voice' that she thought should've been hers," said a source.

But what do Underwood and Clarkson have to say about the drama? Well, Clarkson has been consistently emphatic that the whole thing is fiction. She even explicitly took a photo with Underwood at the 2018 Radio Disney Music Awards to put the rumors to rest. The one thing that complicates the picture yet again? Clarkson told Andy Cohen in a 2023 appearance on his "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" show, "We don't even know each other well enough [to be enemies]. ... "There's nothing between us." That sentence comes out a little hot for someone who claims there's nothing to deny.

In every telling, the relationship between Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood has always been amicable. While the two blew up in country circles in roughly the same time window, there was never any hostility or competition underlying their respective careers. And yet certain corners of the fandom are still convinced the two had some bad blood.

It all started at the 2011 CMA Awards, when Underwood and co-host Brad Paisley worked a dig at Swift's short-lived relationships into their opening monologue. Swift has a history of calling out the misogyny behind this rhetoric, so she may not have appreciated the jab. The following year, Paisley and Underwood doubled down, right after Swift's breakup with Conor Kennedy had become public. The cameras notably refused to cut to Swift in the audience, despite the fact that they usually do for every joke. When asked by The New York Times about the peculiarity of this, Swift had a pointed answer: "They don't pan to you if you're not laughing."

That's not all, though. In 2013, Us Weekly reported that the artists' teams had requested they be seated well apart at the Grammy Awards. Grammy representatives denied receiving any such requests, but the jokes kept coming. During the 2014 CMAs, Underwood and Paisley performed a bit about Swift's shift to pop music and worked in the phrase "shake it off" to acknowledge the star's departure from her Nashville roots. In 2016, sources told Radar the bad blood was still very much alive, but since then, the story has largely faded into the background, and neither woman has said anything to bring it to the fore again.

The inauguration fallout isn't limited to one viral post on Threads. Right after the performance in January 2025, "The View" co-host Joy Behar went straight for Carrie Underwood's throat, saying that her rationale of "I love our country" (per Decider) doesn't make sense. "How do you love your country and support and normalize somebody who was a convicted felon who really wants to destroy the country?" She asked, mustering every bit of accusation she could without quite naming Underwood a traitor.

Then came a host of hot takes on social media, with some celebs, including "General Hospital" star Nancy Lee Grahn and comedian Kathy Griffin, expressing displeasure with the singer. A lot of people didn't buy her explanation that the performance was about patriotism rather than politics. What's worth pointing out, though, is ABC's reaction from behind the scenes. Regardless of what the ladies on "The View" think about Underwood, the network has reportedly told them to give her a wide berth. Due to Underwood's involvement with "American Idol" and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve," the country star is off-limits, with a blunt warning to "play nice with Carrie." (via Radar) 

The country singer, for her part, has never responded to the vocal disdain, and it's been reported that Underwood might be afraid to clap back at the iconic "General Hospital" star, realizing any response to Grahn would drag her even deeper into political territory, which she's clearly tried to avoid. Whatever your opinion of Underwood and her closely guarded political stances, the girl who once clucked like a chicken for Simon Cowell has come a long way — and grown into a considerably more polarizing artist than anyone could've predicted.