Taylor Swift's divisiveness has led to the dissolution of several long-standing friendships.
Conversations surrounding the "Cruel Summer" singer have led to several relationships being terminated, several people tell The Cut. From Instagram posts to school cliques, Swift has led to the downfall of some longtime friendships.
Last year, a 29-year-old took to her Instagram story to share that she did not get the hype about the singer as she saw her followers scrambling for tickets to the Eras Tour. Following the post, her college best friend abruptly stopped speaking to her. Two months later, she received a text saying, "I forgive you," signaling that she was ready to speak again after ceasing communication when she went public with her dislike of Swift.
"She said that she felt like I didn't support her love for Taylor Swift, especially knowing how much she had to work to get the concert tickets," Ponse tells me. "Of all the things, I never expected that to be the thing that would push her away."
While the two are talking once again, their friendship has reportedly "soured" and they are not as close as they previously were.
A 34-year-old New Yorker who goes by Maria faced a similar conflict, this time with her brother's fiancee. After mentioning she "just couldn't get into" Swift prior to their argument, the friend insinuated that she doesn't like her because "men don't like her." When Maria listed artists like Fiona Apple as singers she enjoys, her friend shot them down as "pick-me musicians."
"She said, 'I have more expensive taste in music than you,' and that's when I lost my patience," Maria says. After she stormed off to the restroom following the interaction, her friend did apologize. However, it was too late for Maria to turn back. "There were other things, but this was the straw that broke the camel's back for me."
25-year-old Canadian Swiftie Manhattan Turn states that she has left a friendship if she feels that no one "gets it." She and her college best friend called it quits on their relationship after Manhattan kept suggesting her friend listen to the "All Too Well" singer when going through a break-up with a romantic partner.
"But every time I played Taylor's songs, she'd roll her eyes or change the subject," which she said led to their friendship break-up.
Even those who are open to listening to Swift's music can find it challenging. When Mackenzie Thomas moved to a new town when she was eight-years-old, she found it difficult to make friends as a non-Swiftie.
"I landed into a monoculture and Taylor Swift was the queen," she said, admitting that she tried listening to her work but could not relate to it. "I'm half Black and white passing, but yet Taylor's world still feels like such a white-girl world that I'm unable to touch."
After eventually finding a friend to spend her school days with, Thomas said she was eventually abandoned by her when she started going to Swift concerts with the "popular girls." After moving to New York as an adult, Thomas still calls Swift a "sore spot" for her after she lost a close friend.
"I can't help but wonder if I'd have more meaningful friendships if I loved Taylor Swift," she concludes.
