21st-Century Celebrity Feuds People Will Be Talking About in 100 Years

The Battle of the Princes

When Prince Harry’s wife Meghan Markle joined the British royal family, everyone looked to Kate Middleton, Prince William’s wife to give her support to adjust to her new role. But, as we all know, the two didn’t necessarily get along and, as a result, the battle of the Princes started to take place. 

In Harry’s tell-all Spare, the royal opened up about when their feud reached its peak with a full-on physical fight. “He set down the water, called me another name, then came at me,” Harry recalled, per The Guardian. “It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out.”

Since then, it seems like nothing went back to normal for the two, especially after Harry and Markle’s departure from their royal roles. “But look, we’re brothers, we’ll always be brothers,” Harry said in Harry & Meghan: An African Journey. “And we’re certainly on different paths at the moment, but I’ll always be there for him, as I know he’ll always be there for me.” 

Getting Furious

Back in 2016, while Fast & Furious co-stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Vin Diesel filmed their latest sequel, their dynamic started going downhill. “This is my final week of shooting #FastAndFurious8,” Johnson wrote on Instagram at the time, per Time. “There’s no other franchise that gets my blood boiling more than this one.”

“[My male co-stars] conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t,” Johnson continued. “The ones that don’t are too chicken s–- to do anything about it anyway.” A few months later, Johnson went on to thank the cast and crew for the movie, but conveniently left out Diesel. 

Almost a year later, Diesel cleared the air and said there was no beef between them. “I don’t think the world really realizes how close we are, in a weird way,” Diesel told USA Today. “I think some things may be blown out of proportion. I don’t think that was his intention. I know he appreciates how much I work this franchise. In my house, he’s Uncle Dwayne.”

Sex and the feuding actors

They may have been best friends as Carrie and Samantha on Sex and the City, but Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall reportedly didn’t get along during filming. According to Us Weekly, there was a fallout during the final season due to Parker getting paid a lot more than Cattrall.

All that said, both stars have continuously denied the so-called feud. In a September 2016 interview with TIME, Parker commented on the matter and said, “It was always so heartbreaking to me that there was this narrative about Kim and myself because it just didn’t reflect anything that happened on that set.”

Cattrall spoke with The Daily Mail in January 2010 and said, “I think Sarah was right: People don’t want to believe that we get on. They have too much invested in the idea of two strong, successful women fighting with each other.” She continued, “It makes for juicy gossip and copy. The truth of us being friends and getting along and happily doing our jobs together is nowhere near as newsworthy.” She even went on to call Parker “fantastic” and “a born leader.” 

Pleasantries aside, Cattrall famously said no to a third SATC film and was therefore not invited to join the series’ reboot And Just Like That… prior to a recent one-scene cameo. “I was never asked to be part of the reboot,” she told Variety. “I made my feelings clear after the possible third movie, so I found out about it like everyone else did — on social media.” Ouch!

‘Live With Kelly & Michael’

Live With Kelly and Michael was a beloved show until Michael Strahan dropped an allegedly unexpected bomb on his former co-host, Kelly Ripa. He announced in April 2016 that he was leaving the daytime talk show for ABC’s Good Morning America. 

Things seemed to go sour fast, and Ripa even took a few days off from hosting to come to terms with how everything was handled.

In an email obtained by Deadline, Ripa reportedly wrote to the Live staff, “I wanted to thank you all for giving me the time to process this new information. Your kindness, support, and love has overwhelmed me. We are a family and I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday morning.”

After she returned to Live, she said, “What transpired over the course of a few days has been extraordinary, in the sense that it started a much larger conversation about communication and consideration and most importantly respect in the workplace.”

Despite what started out as a messy situation, during Ripa’s Live return, she even said to Strahan, who was standing near her at that moment, “I am thrilled for Michael. I am thrilled for you. This is a tremendous opportunity and I couldn’t be, and we couldn’t be, prouder of you and everything we’ve accomplished together.”

In October 2016, Strahan spoke to People about his Live exit and relationship with Ripa. “At one point I think we were friends,” he said. “I don’t know what happened at the end. I learned a lot from her, though.”

‘I don’t know her’

Mariah Carey doesn’t know Jennifer Lopez, OK? This isn’t your typical feud, but the public has kind of turned it into one, thanks to a response given by Carey.

It all started in the early 2000s, when the paparazzi asked Carey about Lopez, to which she replied, “I don’t know her.” The Mariah’s World star has stuck to that specific phrase over the years, because she said she isn’t friends with Lopez and doesn’t know her as a friend. However, she said she of course knows who Lopez is.

During a May 2016 Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen appearance, Carey once again stuck to her response. “That was so long ago, I can’t believe people still make such a big deal about it,” she said. Even though Lopez said she has met Carey more than once (the Shades of Blue star even told Wendy Williams just that in March 2016), the “Fantasy” singer doesn’t remember.

“I’m very forgetful,” she told Cohen. Again, Carey declared, “I don’t know her. What am I supposed to say? I’m not going to put on a thing, ‘Oh, we’re all Hollywood, let’s all just pretend we’re best friends because we’re in that land.'”

Rosie O’Donnell & Donald Trump

It’s difficult not to find a celebrity who isn’t against the now 45th president of the United States, but Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump’s feud far surpasses the rest. And you know it’s a feud when it goes all the way back to 2006.

One could say their feud has been all about name-calling, and some memorable ones at that. In December 2006, after Trump decided not to fire Miss USA Tara Conner when drug allegations surfaced, this led to O’Donnell calling Trump on The View a “snake oil salesman on Little House on the Prairie.” Trump responded by calling her “a real loser” and “a woman out of control.”

Even in 2011, Trump went as far as to comment on O’Donnell’s then-engagement with Michelle Rounds by tweeting, “I feel sorry for Rosie’s new partner in love whose parents are devastated at the thought of their daughter being with @Rosie — a true loser.” To that, she responded on Twitter, “wow u r an ass… in every way.”

Their feud continued all the way to the 2016 presidential election. In the one of the presidential debates, Megyn Kelly asked Trump about his language regarding women, including the use of words like “fat pigs,” “dogs,” “slobs” and “disgusting animals.” To that he replied, “Only Rosie O’Donnell.” 

Paging ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ drama

Anyone who was old enough to watch Grey’s Anatomy when it first premiered in 2005 obviously remembers the drama that went down in 2006 with Isaiah Washington. 

Rumors began in October 2006 that Washington made a homophobic slur toward fellow cast member T.R. Knight during an argument with his other co-star, Patrick Dempsey. What made the situation even worse was that Knight had not publicly discussed his sexuality. Washington ended up apologizing for his choice of words and said in a statement to People, “I sincerely regret my actions and the unfortunate use of words during the recent incident on-set. Both are beneath my own personal standards. I have nothing but respect for my coworkers and have apologized personally to everyone involved.”

Knight ended up commenting on his sexuality and told People in October 2006, “I guess there have been a few questions about my sexuality, and I’d like to quiet any unnecessary rumors that may be out there. While I prefer to keep my personal life private, I hope the fact that I’m gay isn’t the most interesting part of me.” 

As for Washington, he ended up getting fired from Grey’s in 2007 and said in a statement via his publicist, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.” Despite all of the controversy, in 2014, Washington returned to the ABC drama as a way to say goodbye to Sandra Oh’s character, Dr. Cristina Yang, who was romantically invovled with Washington’s character, Dr. Preston Burke. 

No drama allowed

And the Grey’s drama continues. As many know, Katherine Heigl and Shonda Rhimes don’t really see eye to eye. In June 2008, Heigl withdrew from Emmy consideration, but what really made headlines was her reason as to why. 

She said, “I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the Academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention.” In July 2008, Rhimes reacted to Heigl’s comments and said, “When I was told about it, my reaction was surprised. I have a really wonderful working relationship with Katherine. Everybody knows Izzie is one of my favorite characters.” She also said, “The back half of the season, Katherine asked me to write her light so that she could do her movie. I don’t feel insulted.”

In March 2010, Heigl and her character, Dr. Izzie Stevens, officially left the ABC medical drama, but that didn’t stop the tension with Rhimes. In a December 2012 interview with TV Guide, Rhimes said Heigl’s exit “stung” and that she “was not surprised.” And in October 2014 (yes, two years later), Rhimes spoke with The Hollywood Reporter and when discussing the Scandal cast, she said, “There are no Heigls in this situation.” That November, Heigl responded to Rhimes’ THR comments while chatting with Extra’s Mario Lopez and said, in part, “I am sorry that she feels that way and I wish her nothing but greatness, and I have nothing negative to say about Shonda. I’m a big fan of her work.”

In April 2016, Heigl once again opened up about her 2008 Emmy remark to Howard Stern. “And I shouldn’t have said anything publicly,” she admitted. “But at the time, I didn’t think anyone would notice… I just quietly didn’t submit and then it became a story, and I felt I was obligated to make my statement, and [I should have just said], ‘Shut up, Katie.'”

Paris vs. Kim

Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton used to be best friends. Actually, their former friendship is something people still can’t get enough of. But it all went downhill in 2008 after The Simple Life was canceled and Keeping Up With the Kardashians premiered. Not to mention that Kardashian’s sex tape with Ray J was also released in 2007, which definitely led to her rise to fame.

Before Hilton knew it, Kardashian was becoming way more famous than she was, and Hilton didn’t seem to like it. In April 2008, the socialite said about her former friend’s butt during a radio interview, “It reminds me of cottage cheese inside a big trash bag.”

Clearly, all things appear to be well between the two. Not only did Kardashian share a throwback Thursday photo on Instagram of herself and Hilton in February 2015, which she used to wish Hilton a happy birthday, but in December 2016, Hilton shared an Instagram photo with Kardashian of them celebrating the holidays together.

Paris vs. Kim

Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton used to be best friends. Actually, their former friendship is something people still can’t get enough of. But it all went downhill in 2008 after The Simple Life was canceled and Keeping Up With the Kardashians premiered. Not to mention that Kardashian’s sex tape with Ray J was also released in 2007, which definitely led to her rise to fame.

Before Hilton knew it, Kardashian was becoming way more famous than she was, and Hilton didn’t seem to like it. In April 2008, the socialite said about her former friend’s butt during a radio interview, “It reminds me of cottage cheese inside a big trash bag.”

Recently, all things appear to be well between the two. Not only did Kardashian make an appearance in Hilton’s Cooking with Paris series, but she was also right by Hilton’s side at her wedding in July. 

That’s not hot

Yes, there is another Paris Hilton feud, but this time with Lindsay Lohan. In the early 2000s, Hilton and LiLo were BFFs, but then their friendship became very complicated.

In 2006, there reportedly was a huge fight between the two at Los Angeles’ Hyde Lounge. Things became worse when Hilton’s friend and fellow socialite Brandon Davis was caught on camera saying, “Lindsay Lohan is a fire crotch. She has freckles coming out of her vagina.” 

After that, the status of their friendship was unclear. But in June 2007, after Lohan had checked herself into rehab that May, Hilton appeared on Larry King Live and appeared to make a dig at LiLo by saying, “I have no friends in rehab.” The ups and downs continued because as Hilton told Glamour UK in 2008, they were once again friends. “We’re fine now. I think [Lindsay has] really changed,” she said. “I saw her a month ago and she was really sweet and seemed really happy and we’re all adults now.”

The tumultuous friendship remained just that soon after their so-called reconciliation in 2008, but there’s no doubt that their feud is one for the books.

Singing different tunes

Glee may have looked gleeful, but not everyone got along while filming. As fans probably recall, there were many reports that Lea Michele and the late Naya Rivera weren’t the best of friends on set. It was all pretty much confirmed by Rivera and Glee creator Ryan Murphy.

In her September 2016 memoir, Sorry, Not Sorry, Rivera said about their feud, “We are both strong-willed and competitive — not just with each other but with everyone — and that’s not a good mixture. As the show progressed, though, that friendship started to break down, especially as Santana moved from a background character to one with bigger plot lines and more screen time.” She added, “I think Rachel — erm, I mean Lea — didn’t like sharing the spotlight.” Rivera also said in her memoir that their “feud” was “blown out of proportion” in the media, but that they were not “the best of friends” and will probably never be ever again.

In February, Murphy commented on the feud to E! News and said that were many disagreements on set, which is bound to happen with a group of teenagers. “[What] do you do when you’re 18 years old or 19 years old and you wake up one day and you’re world-famous?” he said. “I think a lot of that was informed by their youth and being involved in a phenomenon.”

As for Rivera and Michele specifically, Murphy said he “knows for a fact” that they “admired each other’s work, ’cause I directed them both in scenes.”

It’s just ‘irresponsible’

Oh, Tom Cruise and Brooke Shields. Who can forget when the Mission Impossible star went off about Shields endorsing prescription medication to treat postpartum depression in her 2005 memoir Down Came the Rain?

While appearing on Access Hollywood in May 2005, not only did Cruise call Shields “irresponsible” for her medication remarks in relation to postpartum depression, but he said (as an avid Scientologist, members do not believe in prescription medication), “When someone says [medication] has helped them, it is to cope, it didn’t cure anything. There is no science. There is nothing that can cure them whatsoever.” He added, “I care about Brooke Shields because I think she is an incredibly talented women, [but] look at where has her career gone.”

To that, Shields responded in June 2005, “Tom should stick to saving the world from aliens and let women who are experiencing postpartum depression decide what treatment options are best for them.”

In January 2016, Shields opened up about their feud on Jenny McCarthy’s SiriusXM radio show. Eventually, she said, Cruise came over to her house and they ended their beef — so much so that Shields even went to Cruise’s wedding to now ex-wife Katie Holmes. Regarding their disagreement, Shields also said, “Life is too short. I’m sure there are people that have strong, negative opinions about me, but I don’t have the time.”

The Aaron Carter love triangle

This was a love triangle that will never be forgotten. In 2004, Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff reportedly feuded over none other than the late Aaron Carter. 

It all began in 2001 when Carter and Duff met on the set of Lizzie McGuire and ended up dating for two years. However, Carter got “bored” with Duff, so he started hanging with LiLo. “I started dating Hilary on my 13th birthday,” he told CNBC in 2005. “I was dating her for like a year and a half and then I just got a little bored, so I went and I started getting to know Lindsay, dating Lindsay.”

Carter then reportedly went back to Duff, because, well, he found Lohan boring just like he got bored with Duff. However, he and Duff broke up for good in 2003 after he allegedly cheated on her again. Ultimately, this led to tension between Duff and Lohan. So much tension, in fact, that there was that whole thing where it looked like Lohan was making fun of Duff while hosting Saturday Night Live in 2004.

Eventually, the Younger star opened up to Allure in 2008 about it all and said, “Supposedly, I stole Lindsay Lohan’s boyfriend [Aaron Carter]. We were, like, 13! And I’ve never stolen anyone’s boyfriend! I don’t know how you do that!” Duff also made sure to clear the air and revealed that she and Lohan are totally “fine now.”

Brit Brit vs. Xtina

It’s always been hard to tell if these two were friends or not, but ever since they both came into the spotlight as female pop stars in the early 2000s, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears certainly have been pitted against each other. 

Over the years, they both have thrown their fair of shade. For example, in a 2004 interview with Us Weekly, Aguilera said about Spears, “She’s not trailer trash, but she sure acts that way.” And in a 2003 chat with Blender magazine, The Voice star said about Spears, “She seems to me like a lost little girl, someone who desperately needs guidance.”

As for Spears, she responded to Aguilera’s Blender comments by telling the magazine in 2004, “A lost girl? I think it’s probably the other way around.” She continued, “I can’t believe she said that about me. When someone has been rude to you so many times, it’s like, ‘You know what, Christina, I’m really not about the fake anymore.'”

All that said, they have shown one another support. In March 2011, Aguilera tweeted, “Hey @BritneySpears Congrats on Femme Fatale release! Can’t wait to see what you bring in the next video. xo – Xtina.”

Now they’ve got bad blood

This is one feud that will never be forgotten. Taylor Swift and Katy Perry are so not besties, save for that time between 2009 and 2011. There were always rumors that they didn’t get along, but it wasn’t until 2014, when Swift spoke to Rolling Stone, that things started to become somewhat clearer.

Swift admitted that her song “Bad Blood” was about a fellow female artist whom she refused to name. “For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not,” she said. “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?'” What reportedly made things worse for these two was when this unnamed artist allegedly “tried to sabotage an entire arena tour,” Swift revealed. For those unaware, there were rumors that conflict came up during Katy Perry’s tour for her Prism album and Swift’s Red album tour regarding backup dancers.

Soon after Swift’s Rolling Stone interview, Perry took to Twitter and made what appeared to be a dig at the country-turned-pop star: “Watch out for the Regina George in sheep’s clothing…” In May 2015, the 1989 artist chatted with The Telegraph and said about Perry, “I’m never going to talk about her in my interview. It’s not going to happen.” After that, Perry once again took to Twitter and wrote, “Time, the ultimate truth teller.”

Things just got worse and became more apparent in July 2015, when Swift publicly feuded with Nicki Minaj on Twitter regarding the 2015 MTV Video Music Award nominations. Perry tweeted, “Finding it ironic to parade the pit women against other women argument about as one unmeasurably capitalizes on the takedown of a woman…”

And if that isn’t enough when Swift and Calvin Harris broke up in 2016, the DJ posted in a now-deleted tweet, “I know you’re off tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy ETC but I’m not that guy, sorry. I won’t allow it.” It seemed to confirm their rumored feud, and Perry also responded to Harris’ tweet by sharing the most appropriate GIF of Hillary Clinton.

‘Imma let you finish’

Oh, Kanye West and Taylor Swift.

Let’s think back to the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Swift was on stage accepting the award for Best Female Video, and West stormed the stage, stealing her moment by grabbing the mic and declaring, “Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you. Imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time… one of the best videos of all time!” It became one of the most memorable moments in pop culture history — and will forever be.

West did tell Jay Leno that same year after the incident, “It was rude, period. I don’t try to justify it, ’cause I was in the wrong. Dealing with the fact that I hurt someone or took anything away, you know, from a talented artist — or from anyone — because I only wanted to help people.”

From that moment, their feud spiraled and there were many ups and downs. As much as it seemed like the two were on good terms in 2015, especially when Swift presented West with the Video Vanguard Award at the MTV VMAs, things went really downhill after West released his song “Famous” in 2016. In the song, he raps, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that bitch famous.”

West claimed that he spoke with Swift about the song and gave her a heads-up about the lyrics. Swift’s camp denied his claims and said in a statement, “Kanye did not call for approval, but to ask Taylor to release his single ‘Famous’ on her Twitter account. She declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message. Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric, ‘I made that bitch famous.'”

At the 2016 Grammys, after she won Album of the Year, Swift’s acceptance speech made a big statement and was a clear response to West’s claims. She said, “As the first woman to win Album of the Year at the Grammys twice, I want to say to all the young women out there: There are going to be people along the way who are going to try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame.”

West’s “Famous” music video added even more to the feud, which featured West and Kim Kardashian sleeping in bed with the wax bodies of famous individuals next to them. One of the bodies? Swift, of course.

Don’t mess with Kimmy’s man

And West’s feud with Swift didn’t end with him. It also transferred over to his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. After Swift’s camp released that statement denying that the rapper called her for approval for “Famous,” Kardashian took things to a whole new and unexpected level.

In July 2016, the reality star released Snapchat video recordings of a phone call that took place between Swift and West regarding “Famous.” In the videos, Swift is heard discussing the lyrics and even giving West approval. “If people ask me about it, look, I think it would be great for me to be like, ‘He called me and told me before it came out… Joke’s on you, guys. We’re fine,'” she said in the snaps of the recordings.

Soon after Kardashian’s snaps, Swift took to Instagram and released a statement that read, in part, “Where is the video of Kanye telling me he was going to call me ‘that bitch’ in his song? It doesn’t exist because it never happened. You don’t get to control someone’s emotional response to being called ‘that bitch’ in front of the entire world.” She also claimed that West said he would play the song for her, but that never happened. She ended her response with a phrase that has become famous: “I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, one that I have never asked to be a part of, since 2009.”

As for Kardashian’s claims made in a June 2016 interview with GQ (before she released the recordings on Snapchat), where she said Swift was well aware of the song’s lyrics, Swift’s rep released a statement and said, “Taylor has never denied that conversation took place. It was on that phone call that Kanye West also asked her to release the song on her Twitter account, which she declined to do. Kanye West never told Taylor he was going to use the term ‘that bitch’ in referring her.” The statement also said, “Kim Kardashian’s claim that Taylor and her team were aware of being recorded is not true, and Taylor cannot understand why Kanye West, and now Kim Kardashian, will not just leave her alone.”