Infamous Music Star Feuds

Following Kanye West’s spotlight-stealing cameo during Taylor Swift’s best female video acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards (standout ‘Ye quote: “Imma let you finish but Beyonce had one of the best music videos of all time”), both pop-culture staples seemed to bury the hatchet at the 2015 VMAs when Swift presented the rapper with the Moonman trophy for the Video Vanguard Award. Fast-forward to 2016 and Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo track “Famous” has stirred up controversy for the Taylor Swift-referencing verses: “For all my Southside n—as that know me best/ I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/ I made that b—h famous.” The lines didn’t sit right with Swift, who labeled them “misogynistic.” ‘Ye’s wife and reality star mogul Kim Kardashian West came to her husband’s defense and revealed that a video of Kanye and Taylor discussing the lyrics existed. She also shared the footage on Snapchat, which prompted a swift note from Taylor who offered, “Being falsely painted as a liar when I was never given the full story or played any part of the song is character assassination.”

After Sinead O'Connor penned Miley Cyrus an open letter cautioning the pop starlet against being exploited in the music industry, Cyrus did not take the 46-year-old's advice, instead taunting O'Connor on Twitter by recalling the elder singer-songwriter's recent online mental breakdown. O'Connor came back with her claws out, demanding an apology and asking, "Have you any idea how stupid and dangerous it is to mock people for suffering illness?" Cyrus has offered to sort out the mess with O'Connor, one-on-one. When and how will this feud get resolved? Stay tuned.

After a fired up Kanye called himself the "number one rock star" and slammed fashion designer Hedi Slimane in a much-publicized BBC interview, Jimmy Kimmel mocked Yeezus in a sketch for his late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live, where he had children reenact the episode. Hardly anyone noticed the middling sketch, aside from West himself. ‘Ye first lashed out on Twitter, mocking Kimmel's sex life, saying his ex Sarah Silverman was funnier than him, sticking the comedian's face on insulting Photoshopped images, and well, that's just the start of it. On the next episode, Kimmel attempted to laugh off the experience, while Kanye continued to defend his self-proclaimed "first honest piece of media in years" by calling Kimmel's cell phone himself to sound off.

In 2012, Nicki and Mariah were placed side-by-side at the American Idol judges table -- a good idea on paper, right? Unfortunately, the pairing instigated a prime-time battle of the divas that began to play out before the show even aired. Two weeks after both artists played down rumors of a feud, a video surfaced of Minaj storming off the set after a blowup with Carey, during which she yelled, “I told them, I’m not ... putting up with her fucking highness over there.” Later, Carey told Barbara Walters she had hired extra security, as she felt “unsafe” around Minaj. Some speculated that the feud was a play to help the show get more ratings.It didn’t work – Season 12 scored the lowest ratings in Idol history, and both divas left soon after the show’s finale.

Chris Brown and Drake apparently didn’t believe in the saying that you should never fight over the opposite sex. The pivotal moment in the beef was during summer 2012 when the pair were involved in an altercation at NYC nightclub W.I.P. over an argument about Rihanna. While Drake denied involvement, Brown tweeted a photo of a gash on his chin. Shortly after the fight, Brown went on another Twitter rant and spit a diss rap verse on Game's remix to Chief Keef's "I Don't Like," rapping: "A fuck ni--a, that's that shit I don't like/ They throwin' bottles, I'm throwin' models, just 'cause I give a bitch long pipe." But they seemed to patch things up: pictures later surfaced of the two smiling together in a recording studio.

Rockists and poptimists had an epic showdown on their hands when Black Keys' drummer Patrick Carney shared some unkind words for Justin Bieber with TMZ's cameras following the 2013 Grammys. Asked if Bieber should feel burned for his lack of nominations or even an invitation to perform, Carney responded, "He's rich, right? Grammys are for, like, music, not for money… and he's making a lot of money. He should be happy, I guess." The next day, the stage shifted to Twitter. Bieber said Carney ought to be "slapped around" and his legions of fans descended upon the drummer, who compared his Twitter feed to a "virtual Claire's Accessories."

After John Mayer apparently broke Taylor Swift’s heart following their brief relationship, the songstress did what she does best: wrote a sneering ballad about him. Entitled “Dear John,” Taylor went at the bachelor for making her “the girl in the dress” that “cried the whole way home.” In a Rolling Stone interview, John said the song humiliated him. Mayer responds to the song on his Paradise Valley album cut “Paper Doll” "You're like 22 girls in one," he sings on the track. "And none of them know what they're running from. Was it just too far to fall for a little paper doll?" Not so coincidentally, “22” is the title of a single from Swift’s 2012 album Red.

Two huge, fiercely beloved indie-rock outfits were briefly at odds with each other in 2009, when Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne said of Arcade Fire in an interview, "They have good tunes, but they're pricks, so fuck 'em." Coyne had allegedly witnessed Win Butler and company treating their road crew and audience poorly while performing shows with the Canadian collective. Butler shot back that the Flaming Lips "don't know" anyone in his band, and eventually, Coyne apologized for the incident, and even admitted, "I like enough of their music."

Even country stars aren't above headline-making feuds. In 2012, chart-topper Church found himself in a war of words with then-superstar couple Shelton and Lambert after he dissed reality competitions in a Rolling Stone interview. "Honestly, if Blake ... and Cee Lo f---ing turn around in a red chair, you got a deal? That's crazy,” Church said. “If I was concerned about my legacy, there's no f---ing way I would ever sit there...” The Voice judge Shelton was not pleased (“I wish I misunderstood this,” he tweeted), nor was Lambert, who got her start on a competition show. "Thanks Eric Church for saying I'm not a real artist. Or @kelly_clarkson, @carrieunderwood & @KeithUrban,” she tweeted. "Your (sic) welcome for the tour in 2012." Ouch!

Rapper Azealia Banks and celeb blogger Perez Hilton have sparred often via Twitter. But after quieting the beef at the top of 2013, things ramped back up months later after Azealia tried to revoke DJ Baauer’s rap culture pass and tweeted that he “doesn’t belong in hip-hop,” partly spurred by tweeted #TeamAngelHaze in support of rapper Haze, who Banks had exchanged words with. Hilton then chimed in, dissing Banks by saying she’s better known for trash talking than her music. Banks retaliated with a gay slur. To date, they're not BFFs. 

A war of words transpired between the music legends/rivals: John advised Madonna to "make sure you lip-synch good" at the Super Howl halftime show in 2012, and gave a negative prediction of Madonna's Golden Globes chances when her song was nominated against his at that year's ceremony. Soon after, John's husband, David Furnish, was dissing Madonna on Facebook. Despite John's prognostication about Madonna, the singer went on to deliver an impressive halftime show. 

The hip-hop stars' beef went back to 2007 and shots escalated to lyrical jabs in 2010: "So let me get this straight, wait, I'm the rookie? But my features and my shows 10 times your pay?" spit Minaj on "Monster," which was followed up by Kim's diss track, "Black Friday," and a graphic mixtape cover. 

Hip-hop prince Diggy -- son of Run-D.M.C.'s Rev Run -- made headlines in 2012 when the rapper dissed Roc Nation's J. Cole on a leaked song titled "What You Say to Me." While the feud went public off Diggy's shots, J. Cole fueled the fire on songs "Purple Rain" (2010) and "Grew Up Fast" (2011) in which he alluded to a sexual relationship with a "good girl" whose "father was a preacher," rumored to be Diggy's older sister Vanessa Simmons. Points went to Cole, since Diggy's diss was considered dated. Plus, Cole had the Grammy nominations hits and No. 1 albums to back him up.

More of a cheeky battle of words than an actual throwdown, as Young started prodding Southern folk in songs like "Alabama" and "Southern Man," while Skynyrd responded in "Sweet Home Alabama" with the line, "I hope Neil Young will remember/A Southern man don't need him around anyhow." However, Young and Lynyrd Skynyrd have admitted to be admirers of each other's music in the decades since. 

When rockers marry the same woman (Pamela Anderson) and see each other at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, pleasantries are not likely to be passed. Kid Rock and Tommy Lee got into fisticuffs, and later, Rock said that his relationship with the Motley Crue drummer had been strained "for five years." 

In 2003, Natalie Maines publicly discredited Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue," stating the song is "ignorant, and makes country music sound ignorant." Keith responded by displaying a doctored photo of Maines with Saddam Hussein on a concert backdrop, and Maines retaliated by wearing a T-shirt that read "FUTK" at the Academy of Country Music Awards. The Dixie Chicks had the last word and won an album of the year Grammy.

When Kings of Leon turned down a song placement on Glee in 2011, the show's creator, Ryan Murphy, called the rock group "self-centered assholes." In response, KoL drummer Nathan Followill told Murphy to "see a therapist, get a manicure, buy a new bra" on Twitter. Murphy accused the comment of being homophobic. The two sides eventually made up (uneasily). But the feud was just the start of Kings of Leon's problems in 2011, as the group scrapped their U.S. tour after Caleb Followill had an onstage meltdown. 

Two of New York's finest began beefing when Hov took lyrical shots at a Hot 97 Summer Jam concert in which he debuted his song "Takeover." Nas fired back on an unexpected street release, "Ether" and the back-and-forth continued until Nas signed to Def Jam and ended the feud. 

Rihanna and Ciara tussled on Twitter after Ciara publicly called Rihanna out for her bad attitude while guest hosting on E!'s Fashion Police in 2011. "Trust me, Rihanna, you don't want to see me on or off the stage," Ciara wrote. But they eventually settled their beef on social media. "Ciara baby, I love u girl! U hurt my feelings real bad on TV! I'm heartbroken! That's y I retaliated this way! So sorry! #letsmakeup," Rihanna tweeted. Ciara's response: "Rhi u know its always been love since day 1! Doing shows/everything. you threw me off in that party! Apology accepted. Let's chat in person." 

In 1995, Blur and Oasis were two of Britpop's most ubiquitous bands, and they really didn't like each other. The two bands tried to outdo each other by releasing singles (Blur's "Country House" and Oasis' "Roll With It") on the same day, and Oasis' Noel Gallagher famously said that he hoped Blur singer Damon Albarn and bassist Alex James would "get AIDS and die." Almost 20 years later, in 2013, the infamous Britpop battle came to a truce when Albarn and Graham Coxon hit the stage with Gallagher (and Paul Weller on drums) to perform Blur's "Tender" at Royal Albert Hall at  a concert curated by Gallagher to benefit the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Despite forming the crux of one of the most successful rock lineups of all time, Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose and guitarist Slash never quite saw eye-to-eye on the group's music and direction. Slash quit the group in 1996, and Rose soldiered on under the GNR name. But fans saw the day they never thought would come when Axl, Slash and Duff McKagan reunited in 2016 to play Coachella and tour together. 

Courtney Love and Dave Grohl, forever connected through their relationships with Kurt Cobain, argued for decades over the preservation of Nirvana's legacy and the rights to the group's music. In 2012, Love called Grohl's new band the Foo Fighters "gay" at a concert, and accused Grohl of hitting on her daughter, Frances Bean Cobain. But in 2014, the musicians hugged it out when Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Love later tweeted a photo of the embrace with the caption, "The most magical part of the evening. Thank you Dave, love you. I know this made him smile up there."

B.I.G. and 'Pac were once on the same side, but after Tupac accused Biggie of facilitating his 1994 robbery and shooting in the lobby of a New York recording studio, disses were lobbed on and off tracks, and an East Coast-West Coast rivalry was formed. Tragically, the feud ended with the rappers' murders, as Tupac was slain in September 1996 and the Notorious B.I.G. killed in a drive-by shooting in March 1997. 

The feud between rapper Eminem and Mariah Carey is a story of he-said, she-said. After Eminem name-dropped Carey in "Superman," making claims that the two had a romantic history and released voicemails he claimed the diva left him in 2005. Carey publicly responded by denying the claims on Larry King Live and made a few allusions in her song "Obsessed." After Eminem once again took shots at Carey and then-husband Nick Cannon on 2009's "Bagpipes From Baghdad," Cannon challenged Em to a physical fight. Though the beef died down and Carey and Cannon divorced, in early 2016 Cannon invited Em on his show Wild 'N Out for a rap battle, with the proceeds to benefit a children's charity. 

The Game was introduced to the mainstream as a member of 50 Cent's G-Unit group and quickly became the New York rapper's star protege. However, minor squabbling soon turned into gunplay outside of the Hot 97 radio building in 2005 and Game's sudden dismissal from G-Unit; the Los Angeles MC responded by coining the term "G-Unot" and dissing 50 on future mixtapes. "I haven’t seen him in about eight years,” The Game said during a 2016 appearance on Larry King Live. “There was a rift. We had a shootout in New York in front of a radio station. So, I think it was a little bit more than a rift. Egos, young, dumb, ignorant, who knows.”

Van Halen underwent a lineup change in 1985 due to personal and professional conflicts between flamboyant frontman David Lee Roth and the rest of the group. A brief reunion in 1996 ended with more public attacks, but in 2012, the original lineup finally kissed and made up with a reunion album and arena tour. But despite reuniting, Van Halen and Roth weren't exactly BFFs. “He does not want to be my friend,” Van Halen told Billboard in a 2015 cover story. “How can I put this: Roth’s perception of himself is different than who he is in reality. We’re not in our 20s anymore. We’re in our 60s. Act like you’re 60. I stopped coloring my hair, because I know I’m not going to be young again.”

After changing the rap game as members of N.W.A, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E came at odds on the management and direction of the group. The feud spilled into the rappers' solo career, with Dre advising Eazy to "eat a big fat dick" on his The Chronic track "Fuck Wit Dre Day," and Eazy firing back, "But Dre Day only meant Eazy's payday," on the track "Real Muthaphuckkin G's." Despite their difficult moments, Dre paid respect to Eazy -- who died in 1995 -- in a 2015 Billboard cover story. "Argued night and day. But always out of mutual respect. Always out of a desire to get the best," Dre said of their time together in N.W.A. "And always settled with a cool compromise."

Although Tyler, The Creator's homophobic, misogynistic lyrics have caused a lot of uneasiness, few musical artists directly slammed the rapper like Tegan and Sara's Sara Quin. In a 2011 open letter, Quin called Tyler's message "repulsive and irresponsible," and Tyler responded by tweeting at the openly gay rockers, "If Tegan And Sara Need Some Hard D**k, Hit Me Up!" 

The hip-hop newcomers started eyeing each other uneasily when XXL's 2012 freshman class issue included Iggy Azalea as its first female freshman, which a discontented Azealia Banks took to Twitter to publicly discuss. Fueling rumors that Azalea calls herself a "runaway slave master", Banks took shots at Iggy's Grand Hustle senior, T.I., who has brushed off the beef as "b*tch shit." Vitriol between the two MCs continued to fly through the years and came to a head in 2015. "If I could, I would Men in Black memory-erase 2015, I totally would... I think the Azealia Banks thing is what really started it all," Iggy said. "We don’t like each other on a personal level, and that has gone on for many years..."

This hip-hop beef chronicles a classic clash between the old and the new: responding to Common's "soft rapper" insults on 2011's "Sweet," Drake challenged Common during a concert and claimed the elder statesman was just trying to sell records. Common denied that his issue with Drake was over his ex-girlfriend Serena WIlliams, to whom Drake was romantically linked. Instead he likened the verse to a boxing match. You step in the ring, you destroy the person you fighting against, and then you shake hands after. It’s as simple as that, really.” But a couple of diss tracks back and forth later, the showdown continued before dyingout. In 2014, Common admitted that "the war might have been over a girl, but at the time I never said that. It wasn’t totally that. It was more of, 'Do you respect me? 'Cause I actually like you as an artist.'"