POP

A Timeline of Diplo Publicly Dissing Taylor Swift, Up to His Leaked 'Rolling Stone' Interview

11/6/2017 by Bryan Rolli

Oh, Diplo, look what you made Swifties do. The Major Lazer producer incurred the wrath of diehard Taylor Swift fans on Twitter when his upcoming Rolling Stone interview leaked online, including his thoughts on one of Swift’s new singles. Needless to say, the popstar's diehard fans reacted negatively. 

“Music is in the hands of the kids,” Diplo reportedly told the magazine. “Streaming is literally what kids want to listen to over and over again. They want to listen to ‘Rockstar’ and ‘Bodak Yellow.’ They don’t want to listen to, like, ‘Look What You Made Me Do.’” He continued: “That music doesn’t relate to them at all. I don’t think it ever did. They were only given that by radio and marketing budgets. I’m impressed with Post Malone. I can relate to him more than Taylor Swift.”

Bad move, Diplo. Swifties flooded the DJ and producer’s mentions and reportedly posted countless snake emoji on his Instagram (his account currently does not allow for comments, perhaps an act of self-preservation).

It doesn’t even matter that “Look What You Made Me Do” generated 84.4 million U.S. streams in its first week, breaking Adele’s record for the highest streaming week for a female artist -- the pop queen’s fans would’ve come to her defense no matter what. 

 

Diplo later took to his own Twitter in an attempt to turn down the heat by praising a song off Swift’s 2012 album, Red, writing: “calm down swifties ‘all too well’ is one of my fav songs.” Unfortunately for the producer born Thomas Wesley Pentz, this wasn’t his first strike against Swift and her army.

 

Here’s a brief timeline of Diplo and Taylor Swift’s public spats. 


Nov. 2014 - Diplo body shames Swift on Twitter; Lorde comes to her defense

In November 2014, shortly after Swift released her album 1989, Diplo tweeted, “Someone should make a kickstarter to get taylor swift a booty.”

 

The EDM maestro got rightfully slammed for the misogynistic comment, including an epic clap-back from Swift's friend and burgeoning superstar Lorde. The “Royals” singer responded to Diplo: “should we do something about your tiny penis while we’re at it hm.” 

 

Jan. 2015 - Diplo takes aim at Swift fans in GQ Style Magazine 

Rather than issue an apology, Diplo redirected his criticism at Swift’s fans. In a January 2015 interview with GQ Style Magazine, he said: “All I know is, don't ever get into a feud with Taylor Swift. She has like fifty million people that will die for her. It's like an army that's worse than North Korea. You can't step into that arena. That was something I was never prepared for.” Realizing the gravity of his blunder, he added: “One of the biggest mistakes of my career was definitely fucking with her.”


Feb. 8, 2015 - Diplo and Swift smile for the cameras

Eventually, the two artists squashed their beef, even snapping a selfie at the 2015 Grammy Awards. Both parties seemed to handle the scuffle diplomatically, but, this being pop music in 2017 it was bound to get ugly again eventually. 

 

Then this happened @taylorswift vs taylor spliff #grammys2015

A post shared by diplo (@diplo) on


Nov. 2017 - Diplo strikes again 

Whether you like him or not, Diplo is a savvy businessman who knows how to drum up his own press. With Swift’s Reputation just four days away from release, it’s totally plausible that he’s just stirring the pot and trying to piggyback off Swift’s guaranteed massive sales week. Plenty of fans noted this on Twitter. 

 

Diplo’s treading on thin ice after his latest inflammatory remarks. Just remember: When you mess with Swift, you get the Swifties.

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