The TRUTH About Taylor Swift And Katy Perry's Feud 

I love that you're not one sided. It's very refreshing for you to not just agree with everything she does just because she's Taylor Swift. People make mistakes. Even her.

i love how you never sugarcoat what you say about taylor. it really shows her as a more flawed, complicated and interesting character.

Given this all happened during the Tumblr "not like other girls" era, Taylor at this time strikes me as someone who had a basic idea of what feminism is but didn't quite get the nuances of it

I feel like we don’t talk enough about Taylor releasing her entire catalog the day Katy was releasing her album. It lives rent-free in my head.

I think that one of the biggest problems is the kind of Buzzfeed Feminism that Taylor chose. Men get to be aggressive and go after each other all the time, without being accused of being a gender traitor or something. Telling women that they should all play nice and never externalize negative feelings and thoughts they have about one another in an overt way is just another form of repressing and telling them to be "good girls". It seems like a very particular brand of internalized misogyny, and it can only lead to the perpetuation of underhanded mean girl behaviors

"One of the worst music videos from one of the worst songs..." YES. THANK YOU. My friend and I talk about this all the time.

Can we all take moment and appreciate our very own Swiftologist whose power of analysis / critical thinking in the Taylor Nation world is unheard of ? Also, Zach never takes any time of, ever! Thank you Zach for all this amazing content! 👏🏻👏🏻🔥🔥🙏🏻😍

I hated this feud. I love Taylor and this feud was the dumbest shit ever. I felt pretty bad for Katy during this time and I’m glad they reconciled.

Ok now I understand why you describe 1989 Taylor as a cyborg lmao

“I hate you Katy Perry, and I want you to fail” had me screaming 🤣🤣🤣

I would argue that Taylor did play a larger part in Katy’s downfall than many would think. I agree that Katy’s artistry wasn’t sustainable to have a long career but we also often overlook how much mental health play into an artist’s career choices. When you have one of the biggest pop stars on the planet assembling girl squad to alienate/bully you and turning their fans against you it would take a mental toll on you, and I hold onto the belief that it altered Katy’s brain chemistry to some extent that shaped Witness era to be about being vulnerable/having something to prove. Like if the feud never happened, swish swish wouldn’t have existed and this era might be a lot different, might focus on real artistry growth than circling a portion of it around the feud, appearing to be a try-hard, having identity crisis etc. Witness era felt like the feud “got” to her, that made her act a certain way and drove away some of her audience. That’s my take on it

i love how this really shows how scary tayvoodoo is like even when she is very blatantly in the wrong in a situation, her cosmic powers are simply too strong and she still comes out on top anyway😭😭

When I tell people that during 1989 I enjoyed her music but took a step back from liking her they get so defensive about it. They’re always like it was her mgmt team but I saw this drama and girl squad and did not like it

I'd love for you to make a nuanced video on Taylor's public relationships. I will always defend her right to use relationships as inspiration for her songs, because at the end of the day she's an artist and artists tend to project their personal lives through art. But at the same time, i feel like she knew what she was doing when she would appear publicly with her boyfriends. As a celebrity, you should know that everything you publicize will garner attention and awaken controversy. Even though the backlash was harsh and sexist, it also kept her very relevant.

I just discovered your channel and podcast and can I just say - wow! The level of professionalism, journalistic skills and critical analysis you have is second to none in the Swiftie community. Great job Zachary!

I still think it’s weird to get mad at someone for “taking” their dancers, like there aren’t enough dancers out there to hire?? Also, I think it could’ve been interesting if the two reconciled by writing songs for each other or featuring on each other’s songs or appearing on stage to sing a duet.

Katy really did the right thing. Overlook this nonsense beef.

Taylor is trained to be a politician honestly. She'd make a popular dictator

Taylor was a chaotic mess in the 1989 era. She was very ambitious and I think she didn't mind having some colateral damage, as long as everything went well. I guess, we also have to consider Taylor was very young. I'm not excusing her behaviour, but she was dealing with a lot in this era. I think being cancelled, her personal struggles made her have a turn of heart and mature a lot. It was a much needed character development.

Your journalistic skills always impress me. The Swiftologist just does not miss!

I swear I have only ever heard the same three sentence summary of this no matter when or who. So I GREATLY appreciate the actual analysis and in depth information.

Taylor's hands might not be clean but Katy didn't do herself ANY favours either. Witness was blunder after blunder, at a time when pop was dying and trap was on the rise. Katy should've leveraged the absence of the main Pop girls in 2017 and created an ERA. Anyways, I'm happy they made up in that lackluster reunion on YNTCD.

“It’s not personal. It’s strictly Business.” Michael Corleone. The Godfather.

You are the ONLY RU-vidr sometimes I slow you down instead of speeding you up. Props to you for packing so much incredible content into 30 minutes!!!

YESSS NODAYSOFFOLOGIST IS BACK

tbh Katy's downfall was a mix of a lot of events (Trump era started, change in appearance, change in music style, change in culture at the time that was literally the opposite of what Katy released in the early 2010s) and the feud just made it bigger. i still think she can have a comeback tho, especially there's A LOT of hype around KP6

I just love these super insightful videos. Zack you TRULY have a gift of explaining pop culture in an intelligent yet exciting way. Rolling Stone needs to hire you ASAP.

Katy was the main pop girl back then (from 2010 to 2013). She was the definition of pop music. It was hit after hit after hit. Dark Horse was a big hit in 2014, but Taylor replaced Katy when she released 1989 album. She became the main pop girl after 1989… She was it girl, she was the main pop girl. It really was a competition for Taylor. It's so terrible to constantly pit two successful women against each other ☹️

I've always found it interesting in the slight similarities in PRISM and 1989. Not only that the lead single and album were released at pretty much the exact same time in the years of 2013 and 2014, but the major singles are very reflective of each other. Both ''Roar'' and ''Shake It Off'' were released as power anthems, and both ''Dark Horse'' and ''Blank Space'' were released as darker love songs. I suppose you could also argue that ''Unconditionally'' and ''Wildest Dreams'' have some sonic resemblements. Katy STILL holds the record for most viewed female RU-vid music video, with TWO SONGS (''Roar'' and ''Dark Hose'', both from PRISM). I would argue that 1989 had much more similarity with PRISM, rather than with Teenage Dream.

Oh wow, thank you for pointing out that she absolutely made sure Bad Blood was obviously about Katy Perry. And then the later interview where she pretends that she didn't make all the obvious hints. I remember reading that and then going back and double checking the original. I was like, is she gaslighting us? Love Taylor but I disagree with what she did to Katy Perry.

Zach's journalistic and analytical prowess is truly unmatched among public-facing pop culture enthusiasts. This coverage was excellent. One of my most valued You Tube subscriptions.

*standing ovation* As a (male bodied) pop girlie with no real allegiance to anyone but Mother Monster, experiencing these events real-time felt like such a fever dream. It cannot be overstated how deftly and insightfully you’ve broken down this utterly iconic, silly moment in pop cultural history. First time viewer of the channel and instant subscriber. I stan.

Katy perry does in FACT have the power to make a big comeback.Her career isnt dead(Smile got 1 billion streams).I also feel like agesism for women in the music industry is starting to die down too so there should be no issue.

Its actually extreamly smart to keep your employees seperate from your personal life... look at the mess Lizo is in now... it just doesnt make buisness sense. Taylor has made it clear with gifts (her love language) that she cares about her staff... she might not be friends, but they have medical insurance and bonuses.

I completely agree with Taylor being competitive with Katy since the very beginning, fighting for the female Popstar iron throne. However, I’m convinced that Katy Perry dating John Mayer was the moment when Taylor completely lost it. It was the last straw! them publicly dating and writing song together… Tay couldn’t handle that… the dancers were just an excuse 😂 Ironically, a video resurfaced, where Travis Kelce had to play “kill, marry, kiss”, and he chose Taylor for a kiss and to marry Katy Perry 😂 Katy felt an urge to publicly support them… ASAP!! just in case…has already been there, poor girl… 😅

Girl, you have done it again, constantly raising the bar for us all and doing it flawlessly.

your thumbnails are getting better and better. nodaysoffologist strikes again ‼️

Your coverage never misses. So articulate & well thought-out. 🙌👏🙌

Both Gaga and Kesha talked about how mean Katy was in verified private text messages made public through court documents in the Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald trial. I believe there's a lot of truth to that Taylor quote at 12:20 . But similar to what you said in 10:10 , I also believe it's very likely Taylor that made a mountain of a molehill to dethrone Katy as the #1 pop star in the world. Which makes sense why Katy responded with "watch out for the Regina George in sheep's clothing."

I think Taylor regreted that interview more than any other. It was very stupid, I can't imagine her doing something like that today. But I must say that I also had just "lost" a friend at that time and listen to "bad blood" every day was necessary!

Cant Wait. Been waiting ever since you announced it. Love the thumbnail!

Tayvoodoo is insane. Even when Taylor messes up and outright lies, Tayvoodoo acts up. Looking forward to seeing you talk about Katy Perry's Witness. Definitely gonna listen to Slut and Suburban Legends first.

Absolutely love your content and podcast!!! So refreshing to see a more critical approach to anything Taylor related 🧡👏🏽 bravo!!

Taylor saying she hates conflicts 🤣

i wonder if 10 years from now olivia and taylor would become "friends" again

Your frequent uploads give me life!! Really cannot find an equivalent to this type of content on RU-vid.

Once again, you have made a wonderful video essay and I just love how you never pick one side. It's never just "Taylor's a villain" or "She's an angel" it's just "Taylor is." and clever journalism. This is why your videos are some of the most fun to watch. I'll admit I was too young to really know or really care during this feud, but my bff was a Katy stan and so I was naturally "on her side". It's a refreshing view to see that in most feuds like this there is no winner or loser. It's also been a hard pill to swallow that truth, because it might hit a little too close to home. I am a very clear over-thinker and this sometimes leads to me coming up with the most ridiculous scenarios and I wonder if sometimes Taylor suffers the same way. It's also tough because due to this, Taylor is a very relatable person to me and I do hold her close to my heart. I don't go as far to idolise her (your videos are a godsend) but I still do love her a lot because I relate to her. So when I watch these videos, I do sometimes ruminate over whether I have done stuff like that. But now I take it as a sign to talk with someone instead of letting "tensions brew" in my head and have a HEALTHY reflection. I do still enjoy Katy's music and now that the ageism and pitting people against each other is (relatively) starting to slow down within the industry and pop culture, I hope she can make a comeback.

I fully believe Katy's account of her dancers choosing to go back to her instead of stay on Red Tour. Those dancers did get to play a part in the most-watched Super Bowl Half-Time show of all time (at least at that point), so not all was lost! Katy Perry's fall from grace was so abrupt. The woman who sent a throwaway mid tempo ("Rise") used for NBC's Olympics ads to Top 10 couldn't send her second and third singles of Witness era into the Top 40 next year.

another amazing analysis king, u never fail to be a great journalist.

the thumbnail slays

Zach! Was so thrilled to hear the quick clip of you commenting on Taylor’s lackluster merch on the New York Time’s Popcast Deluxe! Congrats! (Hope you were properly credited though) Thank you for continuing your honest and thoughtful content that we’ve come to expect no less from our favorite Taylor content creator. We all love Taylor, but it is always appreciated to see studiously researched content that does remind everyone that these situations were more complex than the public at large may realize. Taylor has made mistakes and has done other women wrong (though I wholly agree, I think Katy is responsible for the slump in career, she just doesn’t have the artistic ability to maintain the longevity/ fan devotion that Taylor has. Taylor’s just a better artist, but Bad Blood did leave a bad taste in my mouth) Thanks again for the great content! I love Taylor as much as the next Swiftie but I appreciate your ability to articulate that she has made mistakes, is not always perfect, can be calculating (which I don’t think that’s really a bad thing, and has served her well many times) and that there is more nuance to the Katy/Taylor feud than a lot of people probably recognize. I do believe that Taylor has learned from this and grown a lot in the 10 or so years since (caveat: hopefully, RE: TBD after we see how the Olivia Rodrigo situation turns out). Can’t wait for the next video!

You’re so good at what you do Zack!

As someone who was born in 2005, Teenage Dream was a big thing for my childhood. I didn’t know who Taylor was until 2013 with 22, and 1989 in late elementary and early middle school redefined my childhood. In the end at 18, I listen to Taylor everyday and Katy… not as much Edit: I love the bad blood remix… (I also love Kendrick Lamar)

For my Lover Secret Session picture I asked for us to recreate one of the Mean Girls promo shots of Cady and Regina and can I just say... Taylor ATE that up! She knew exactly what picture I meant before I even finished my sentence and was very excited to recreate it 🤣

I’m so excited!! I just became a subscriber this month and I can’t wait to experience 1989 (Taylor’s version) with your wonderful videos 😊 Thank you!!

i love you content, in fact you're the only swiftie i watch. i'm all for critical viewpoints, also you can tell how much work you put to make your videos 👏🏻🥰

I LOVE that it seems that you know what we want to hear from you. I love this kind of videos, thank youuu

Such a smart and thorough analysis- love all your work Zach, it’s informative and entertaining !

Very well done video on the feud. Makes me nostalgic for the Teenage Dream era.

I would love to watch a KP video about her career's ups and downs :) thanks for all the content

sorry but I always kinda lowkey sympathized with Katy in this situation from the beginning

Excellent video!! You always bring new info I didn’t know before and have such an intelligent and realistic commentary that we don’t see from others! Can’t wait for the next one!

Just recently found your channel and really love it. Your voice is very calm and I love how you calmly and clearly communicate your points. Thank you for this content!

TYSM for this video! I’ve been waiting for it since this channel started. We’re getting so incredibly well fed this month 😋

You are literally my favorite RU-vid Channel right now and it's a travesty that you don't have more subscribers. Keep up the good work and I know you'll make it

Hi zach, i absolutely love your videos and you are one of my favourite creators on RU-vid. I love all the videos you've put out this month and it is so refreshing to see a creator unafraid to speak the truth and see taylor as a person capable of making mistakes (looking at you lover). Keep up the hard work!!! 💕💕💕I also love seeing a mature conversation around taylor because I went to the eras tour film and umm, the crowd was something, they were mostly 8 year old girls who sang to blank space, then sat back down completely silent during all of folklore and evermore 😭

This is the reason why I think my perception of hers really changed after the miss Americana documentary. Before that I feel like she has never really been very honest with us or even with herself about how much she actually cares for numbers and public perception and stuff, and she would outright dismiss or lie about stuff, if she feels like the narrative is against her. She refuse to let go of her public image that is this perfect person who can do no wrong, and she refuse to accept the darker part of herself. In her documentary she really for the first time shows to the world that she cares deeply about these things. She really want people to see her as perfect as possible, and she really isn’t at the same time. It was vulnerable and real and emotional for the first time, it felt genuine. It isn’t really directed to any person other than herself, and she really show us her inner thoughts. After the documentary, the very imaginative yet introspective folklore/evermore album, and also the outright admission in the midnight album, finally have her coming to terms with the darker side of her personality. That she hold grudges and she is petty, she cares about numbers and achievements, and she really care about what people think of her, just like all of us. She just feel so much more genuine and not afraid to show us the parts that makes her human. She accepts that she has faults, just like so many of us has. And with the re-recording coming out, im very much looking forward to hear about her uncensored thoughts on the media frenzies of the time and her unfiltered words.

I love people who think with nuance. Great video Zac

I don’t know how I got here , I really thought I was a really casual fan of swift, but I watch every one of your videos the second I see them lol

I'm a huge KP fan. I've always loved her and I've had loyalty to her since the beginning. Taylor did always seem calculated to me and her being shocked at every award show about winning every award did irritate me, while I kinda liked the music it wasn't until 1989 that I really enjoyed Taylor. The original comments from Taylor about Katy kinda rubbed me the wrong way but I went to the Prismatic World Tour and I also went to the 1989 World Tour because I was a fan of both albums. It wasn't until Taylor pettily dropped the old albums on spotify that it really started to bother me. Taylor, especially now speaks so much about artistic integrity and people respecting art and music and to do something so hateful and rude towards someone's new art that fans waited four years for was such a bombshell thing I still have trouble forgiving Taylor for it. I like Taylor's music now more than ever but I've always had problems with this behaviour and an aquarius never forgets.

Live for your updates and vids

Great retrospective. Now that you’ve laid everything out like this, I’m inclined to agree that there wasn’t any specific catalyst to the feud, but rather, it was mainly just tensions bubbling over between two extremely successful artists. “The knife cuts both ways; If the shoe fits, walk in it 'til your high heels break”

I love your perspective. Always fair, funny and very informative!

Love your take on this! Really objective and interesting, I even laughed many times :D I was wondering, would you be interested in making a video about Taylor and Calvin? I feel like he's such a confusing character when trying to understand Taylor's career and life. I could use some essay about that if you'd like :)

How dare you premiere this in the middle of the night the one time I need to go to bed to get up early

First of all. Thanks for creating value content thought through. Glad I'm not the only swiftie that can see the shade thrown over Katy, I really miss her and I didn't feel I could call myself a swiftie before this reconciliation even tho I was singing my lungs out since Our Song. Great works, thanks for sharing the complex rounded person that is TS.

Some great, fresh insights here. Very thought provoking 👏 🌟

Thanks so much for this! I've spent so long in the dark not knowing what the heck happened.

This is the most randomness thing, but Zack influenced me with his plants. I spent some big bucks on a Eucalyptus plant because of seeing it in the background of his videos 😅

Youre the best. No words. Really look fwd to your work!

Love this honest reviews. Thank you!

Thank you! I have wanted a picture of that feud forever! You summed it up so well. Thank you. Though I believe Katy Perry did get blasted - I think the better artist rose to the top and would have regardless of Witness did better on the charts. Also - where Taylor grew up with other cool kids not wanting to hang with her - the cool Katy not being nice was probably triggering and she may have been acting some repressed anger and it made her feelings towards Katy amplify. Past middle school drama can totally screw with you head.

Another great video, thanks swiftologist ❤

Loved this!! You’re so well spoken and the research is there! Thank you

This was great! Would love to see a video from you tracing more of her feuds, including how she went after Ella Mae Bowen and stole her big break.

love this analysis! also do you think tay will ever do secret sessions/meet and greets during tours again in the future? (future tours and albums)

I thought the world was gonna explode when Bad Bloods video dropped

…and all of these reasons and more (that you have so hilariously and eloquently stated 👏🏻) are the other reasons I actually held a horrid taste in my mouth with Taylor. I definitely respected her calculation, I mean “shooting from the hip” talents, but she did have a lot to learn. Now, I find her far more appealing and down to earth, while also being a the c*nty queen she is. I think her relationship w Moe and the drama prior, mixed with the panorama really did a world of good for her. Well…hopefully. As I’m still pondering this entire “friendship” with Carpenter (who is talented but IMO not anywhere close to deserving the eras tour openers so often, as we don’t truly know who much she actually writes in her music) and Rodrigo becoming the new generation or equivalent of Swift. She’s definitely not Swift, but she is a very formidable talent. It either broke people or elevated them. Great breakdown.

Dang you're growing so fast, you're going to hit 100k in no time

This This is what we’ve all been waiting for!!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉

Suuuuch a good video! Chef’s kiss! 🤌

The connection you made between E.T and bad blood is honestly blowing my mind

This is now my little break from the craziness of the world. I NEED this. 💙

I love that Tay completely leave out that SHE has a SCORPIO MARS. Katy is upfront a Scorpio (so much Scorpio, so I do believe she will have a comeback) but Tay is secretly a Scorpio and we see that in the strategic games. Scorpio in Mars is not an accidental bow archer. It’s a .50 cal sniper rifle with a scope 4 klicks away reading your texts

Twiddling my thumbs over here waiting for this

This content is stellar

Fantastic analysis 👏👏👏

The way you analyse Taylor’s career is so interesting and different from almost any other swiftie channel I watch. It’s really unique and I hope you’ll make a lot more videos about business decisions Taylor made. I was wondering what you think Taylor would have done, considering she wanted to be the main pop girl, if the thing with the backing dancers didn’t happen? Do you think she still would’ve come for Katy in some way or how would she have gone about this? I’m curious to hear your thoughts on that!

this is that moment from the 1989 era that i HATED, and even tho i loved the album it make me dislike taylor a bit back then, i'm glad we all move on from this, it was painful to witness being a big fan of both katy and taylor, thank god she would never do something like this again

Hi Zach, thank you for the video. it was so nicely put together and had lots of information I didnt know actually. You always have such good videos! also my name is Sophia and I was wondering when are you going to make you twitter public? I have been trying to get on your twitter page so I can see all your tweets, I am new to twitter and your account is private? ;))) have a good day and I cant wait for 1989 TV!!