Feuds involving 2020 Grammy nominees, music stars

By Neia Balao 8:13am PST, Jan 13, 2020

Just because they're Grammy-nominated stars doesn't mean they don't get into quarrels! Ahead of the 2020 Grammy Awards, Wonderwall.com is breaking down some of the feuds involving this year's crop of talented nominees… starting with Billie Eilish and Jimmy Kimmel. In November 2019, Billie sat down with the late night host on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" where he proceeded to quiz her on her music knowledge. Jimmy asked the teenager a variety of questions related to her young age, like if she could name a Van Halen, if she'd ever played with a Cabbage Patch Kid or if she could name any of the original "Ghostbusters" — all things Billie admitted she was unfamiliar with. The segment was pretty awkward, and Billie didn't appreciate the way she was treated, telling Jimmy, "You're making me look so dumb!" A month later when the "bad guy" singer took the stage at Variety's Hitmaker event to accept the hitmaker of the year award, she addressed the talk show drama in her acceptance speech. "Thank you so much, Variety — thank you for not making me look stupid like everybody else wants to do on TV." Keep reading to see our breakdown of more feuds involving 2020 Grammy nominees…

Post Malone vs. Yelawolf

In March 2019, rapper Yelawolf released "Bloody Sunday" — a freestyle in which he calls out fellow Caucasian rappers. Post Malone, Machine Gun Kelly and G-Eazy were among the artists mentioned in the diss track, and the former was especially unhappy with what was said about him. Post tweeted about Yelawolf's remarks, criticizing his rap style among other things. "Also Yelawolf is a nerd, and this tweet is the only support I will offer his album :)," he wrote. He concluded his tweet by telling Yelawolf's band to get in touch when they "want to play some actual good music." Ouch!

Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta

Taylor Swift was embroiled in a feud with music execs Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta for half of 2019, and it's not over yet. In June, it emerged that Scooter and his investors paid $300 million for Taylor's former label, Big Machine, which gave him control of the pop star's first six albums. A livid Taylor released an open letter on Tumblr telling fans in part, "Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it," as she went on to accuse Scooter — who manages Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato and previously managed Taylor nemesis Kanye West — of "bullying" her when she was at her "lowest point." Taylor later revealed she planned to re-record her early albums before the saga escalated dramatically in November. The pop star took to social media to accuse Scooter and Scott, Big Machine's CEO, of blocking her from performing her own songs at the 2019 American Music Awards and in a Netflix special. Big Machine denied it, then days later curiously announced that they'd reached a deal with AMAs producers concerning streaming and re-broadcasts of clients' songs. Scooter then posted a lengthy open letter to Taylor explaining that he and his family had received death threats in the wake of her claims. He also urged her to meet with him in person to hash out their differences. She declined and in December fired another shot while accepting Billboard's woman of the decade award: "The definition of the toxic male privilege in our industry is people saying 'But he's always been nice to me' when I'm raising valid concerns about artists and their rights to own their music."

Lizzo vs. "Truth Hurts" plagiarism accusers

Brothers Justin and Jeremiah Raisen alleged in the fall of 2019 that "Truth Hurts" hitmaker Lizzo neglected to give them a songwriting credit for their work on the track, claiming that they penned a song called "Healthy" with her that became "Truth Hurts." "We were never contacted about being credited for the use of the parts of 'Healthy' (melody, lyrics, and chords) that appear in 'Truth Hurts,'" Justin captioned a since-deleted Instagram post. This wasn't the first time Lizzo was accused of plagiarism concerning that particular track. In 2018, British singer Mina Lioness accused Lizzo of taking her now-famous line about a DNA test from a tweet she'd composed. Lizzo later agreed to credit her on the track. As for the accusations from Justin and Jeremiah? Lizzo clapped back in October 2019 and did not concede. "The men who now claim a piece of Truth Hurts did not help me write any part of the song," she contended. "The creator of the tweet is the person I am sharing my success with… not these men. Period."

Ellen DeGeneres vs. Dakota Johnson

To save yourself from an immensely cringeworthy watch, we'll breakdown how the viral Ellen DeGeneres and Dakota Johnson feud began. On Nov. 27, 2019, Dakota visited the comedian's talk show where things turned awkward real quick. The best comedy album Grammy nominee remarked that Dakota had failed to invite her to her 30th birthday party in October — which the "50 Shades of Grey" actress vehemently denied being true. "Actually, no, that's not the truth, Ellen. You were invited," she calmly refuted. It's worth noting that on a previous episode, the host expressed her disappointment at not being invited to Dakota's 29th birthday celebration, hence the 30th birthday invitation in an effort to make amends. "I did invite you and you didn't come," the "Suspiria" actress asserted. "Ask your producer, Jonathan." Ouch — Dakota sure hit her with some facts! It just so happens that Dakota's birthday bash took place on Oct. 5, which was the same weekend Ellen controversially sat with President George W. Bush at the Dallas Cowboys football game. Hmm…

John Legend vs. Donald Trump

When isn't the POTUS embroiled in a Twitter war?! While President Donald Trump and Hollywood It couple John Legend and Chrissy Teigen have had their fair share of online drama, one from September 2019 was particularly noteworthy. President Trump took to Twitter to criticize the Grammy winner's appearance at a criminal justice town hall that took place at Sing Sing prison in Ossining, New York, and referred to Chrissy as John's "filthy mouthed wife." Chrissy wasn't happy and shared a series of her own tweets in response to the president's remarks. John was, of course, also dismayed by the president's online behavior and the way in which he spoke of his wife. "Melania, please praise this man. He needs you," the "All of Me" singer wrote, addressing the first lady.

Dave Chappelle vs. the LGBTQ community

Best comedy album Grammy nominee Dave Chapelle's Netflix comedy special "Sticks & Stones" caused quite a stir among the LGBTQ community when it came out in August 2019, and rightfully so. On the special, the comedian made a plethora of comments about trans people, many of which sparked debate on whether or not he should speak like that about a group he's not part of. Trans comedian Alison Grillo shared how she can see both sides of the argument — that Dave should be free to make jokes about whatever he chooses but that there is a line he might have crossed. Lesbian comedian Elsa Eli Waithe shared her discontent with Dave's set, stating, "you don't belong to the group. This is mad simple, not clever low hanging fruit." Gay comedian Guy Branum also weighed in, sharing that Dave could refrain from using derogatory words.

Burna Boy vs. AKA

Rappers Burna Boy and AKA have also taken shots at each other on social media. Their feud goes back to September 2019 when Burna Boy took to Twitter to urge African foreigners currently in South Africa to protect themselves amidst a spike in xenophobic attacks in the country. South African rapper AKA tweeted Burna Boy back, telling him to "beef up his security." In November 2019, AKA brought up Burna's remarks, requesting that he apologize after it was announced that Burna was on the Africans Unite concert lineup. The request, however, was unappreciated by the "Gum Boy" hitmaker. "In 2015 Even I was a victim of the misguided hate so I know. Go and demand apologies from your REAL Enemies. I am not your Enemy. I will not be called 'foreigner.' I am AFRICAN," Burna tweeted on Nov. 16. AKA then responded, saying that the South African Department of Sports, Arts and Culture owed Burna an apology for funding the concert to begin with — though Nathi Mthethwa, the minister of sport, arts and culture denied their involvement. Ultimately, the Africans Unite Concert in South Africa was canceled, so the Burna Boy vs. AKA dispute has since come to a (momentary) end.

Lewis Capaldi vs. Noel Gallagher

Was it all in good fun? In July 2019, it was reported that English rocker Noel Gallagher was feuding with Scottish up-and-comer Lewis Capaldi. The two exchanged many choice words in 2019, beginning when the former Oasis star appeared on Radio X. In the segment, interviewer Gordon Smart brought up Lewis and other musicians in response to Noel voicing concerns about the current state of music. Noel responded, "Who's this Capaldi fella?" and then referred to the young musician as an "idiot." Lewis responded to Noel's choice words by posting a Snapchat video on Father's Day. "What a day. It's Father's Day and I'm getting slagged off by a man who's old enough to be my da. I've never been more happy. Happy Father's Day, Noel," he said. Noel responded by posting a video of his son crying to Lewis's song "Someone You Loved." "You might wanna try and find some joy in your tunes you're destroying the youth… my 11yr old is in bits," he shared. Additional shots that have been fired include Lewis posting a photo of himself posing with Noel's sibling rival, Liam Gallagher. Enraged, Noel said some pretty nasty things about Lewis in a Variety interview in July 2019, calling the 22-year-old singer Chewbacca and Scotland a third-world country, among other things. Noel's daughter Anais showed her support for Lewis, as did Liam. However, in August 2019, Lewis remarked that after a chance encounter with Noel, the two are fine. They saw each other at the Mad Cool Festival and, according to Lewis, he "gave him a big hug and whispered in his ear, 'It's gonna be OK.'" Phew. Glad those two figured things out before it got even worse!

Nicki Minaj vs. Cardi B

The Cardi B and Nicki Minaj feud seemed to come to an end in 2018, but Cardi might have dropped a hint in late 2019 that it's not entirely over yet. Following a tumultuous history of quarreling and public shoe throwing with Nicki, Cardi took to Instagram in November 2019 to express how she'd prefer to enter the New Year on a positive note. "I don't want to end this year on bad terms with anyone," the "Be Careful" rapper posted. "APOLOGIZE TO ME. I'm ready to forgive ya 😩😂." Fans assumed that Cardi was referring to the "Barbie Dreams" rapper. Though on one hand her comment wainterpreteded as an olive branch, on the other, it's been construed as an attempt to rehash their (currently) dormant 2018 feud.

Ariana Grande vs. Victoria Justice

We love a reconciliation! For years, there was speculation that former Nickelodeon stars Ariana Grande and Victoria Justice were never on the greatest terms, but that's now been put to rest by Victoria herself. In a November 2019 interview with "Entertainment Tonight," Victoria revealed that she'd reached out to Ariana to congratulate her on her success. "I think it's important for women to lift each other up and be there for each other," she shared. "I'm all about female empowerment." Their history has certainly been a tumultuous one though — from the 2010 meme-inducing remark that Victoria made about how the entire "Victorious" cast (not just Ariana!) can sing to Ariana telling "Seventeen" in 2013 that she had a co-star who never liked her to Victoria leaving Coachella 2019 before Ariana's set. In any event, we're glad that they've moved past it!

Tyler, the Creator vs. Eminem

When asked by music producer Rick Rubin if there were any rappers he listened to for just their lyrics — not their music — Tyler, the Creator cited Eminem. "He picks some of the worst beats ever," the "Flower Boy" music star said in October 2019. The dig came a year after Eminem released "Kamikaze," an album that contained homophobic lyrics targeting Tyler. Eminem has since apologized for the lyric, admitting that he took things too far.

Taylor Swift vs. Katy Perry

While these two pop stars no longer have any bad blood, theirs was a feud that lasted for a long time. What started as a cryptic reference to another pop star in Taylor's 2014 banger "Bad Blood" turned into a full-on public declaration of war between the two that all began when Katy allegedly poached Taylor's backup dancers. From Katy's claim that Taylor had attempted to assassinate her character to Taylor decision to release her entire discography on Spotify the day Katy's "Witness" album came out, these hitmakers were at it for years. However, in 2018, they started to mend things when Katy sent Taylor an actual olive branch as the "Reputation" singer kicked off a new tour. In June 2019, Taylor made cookies for Katy with a frosting message that read "Peace at last," which Katy then posted on her own Instagram page too. The same month, the war came to a public end when Katy appeared in Taylor's "You Need to Calm Down" video dressed as a cheeseburger who hugged Taylor, who was dress as fries. A happy meal indeed!