For years, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry had one of music’s most infamous feuds. The two artists made it clear that they didn’t like each other, though Perry was more direct about her problem with Swift. While they are now on much better terms, Swift admitted she was never sure where she stood with Perry even before their feud. 

Taylor Swift said she was never sure she knew how Katy Perry felt about her

When Swift released the song “Bad Blood,” many listeners wondered if the song was about an ex. She denied this, noting that the song was about the end of a friendship. While she did not name the person, people have come to believe that the song is about Perry. She described a complicated dynamic with her.

“For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not,” she told Rolling Stone in 2014. “She would come up to me at awards 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?’”

Their uneasy friendship collapsed into a feud when Perry allegedly tried to hire some of Swift’s backup dancers.

“She did something so horrible,” Swift said. “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.”

Perry shared how she felt about ‘Bad Blood’

Perry believed “Bad Blood” was about her, which she found frustrating. 

“I mean, I’m not Buddha — things irritate me,” she told NME. “I wish that I could turn the other cheek every single time, but I’m also not a pushover, you know? Especially when someone tries to assassinate my character with little girls [her fans]. That’s so messed up!”

Her frequent collaborator, producer Max Martin, co-wrote and co-produced “Bad Blood.” She said she didn’t blame him for the song, though.

“I can’t speak for [Max], but he didn’t know [who ‘Bad Blood’ was about].’ I’m not supposed to tell him what he can and can’t do,” she said. “I’m very fair; I’m super-duper fair and I’m not one of those people who’s like, ‘You can’t do that because I don’t like that person.’ Just like you do you, make your own choices … I’m not his mother.”

Taylor Swift and Katy Perry are on better terms now

Perry had long stated that she would be happy to let the feud go if Swift apologized. In 2018, though, she made the first move towards peace by sending Swift an olive branch. In 2019, she appeared in the music video for Swift’s song “You Need to Calm Down.” Eventually, Perry told Ellen DeGeneres that it had all been a misunderstanding.

“It was really unfortunate,” she said, “but we made amends and I’m all about redemption and forgiveness and for setting an example for those younger people that it can be cool to ask for forgiveness and confront someone that you may have an issue with or a problem with and talk it out.”

Swift said she’d spoken at length with Perry about their issues.

“We were talking about how we’ve had miscommunications with people in the past, not even specifically with each other,” Swift told Rolling Stone. “She’s like, ‘I’m a Scorpio. Scorpios just strike when they feel threatened.’ And I was like, ‘Well, I’m an archer. We literally stand back, assess the situation, process how we feel about it, raise a bow, pull it back, and fire.’”