As the year comes to a close, we’re also celebrating the end of a decade. The 2010s have been a time of laughs, love and camaraderie but it has also bred some of the most iconic rivalries amongst celebrities. Let’s take a look at the best public feuds of the past ten years.
5. Naya Rivera vs. Lea Michele
Rumour has it that Naya and Lea were just as larger-than-life as the characters they portrayed on the hit show Glee. When season five of the show started airing, Naya’s character Santana became a more prominent figure and the two women were forced to spend significantly more time with each other.
In Naya’s 2016 memoir Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes and Growing Up, she claimed that Lea was not used to sharing the spotlight as the main character of the show. By the time season six rolled around, Lea apparently flat-out ignored her anytime they were on set together.
Lea, for her part, outright denied any claims that the two fought when she appeared on The Late Show. But Ryan Murphy, the showrunner of Glee, confirmed in 2017 that they did indeed have their on-set tiffs.
Since the show’s finale in 2015, the two seem to be on amicable terms. Let’s just hope they don’t have to work together again.
4. Zayn Malik vs. Louis Tomlinson (One Direction)
Back in 2010, all five members of the boy band One Direction seemed inseparable. After recording a slew of hits, Zayn decided to leave the group in March of 2015. At the time, things seemed friendly enough, but a few months later it was clear that former best friends Louis and Zayn had some unfinished business.
In May of 2015, Liam Payne posted a video with the caption “new fifth member? I think so.” Zayn’s producer fired back with a picture of him and Zayn captioned “replace this.” Louis called out the producer for being a coattail-rider in the industry and Zayn responded to this by telling Louis to stop meddling in his life. Ouch.
When Louis’ mom passed away in 2016, he invited Zayn as well as the other One Direction members to his first performance after her death. Apparently, Louis was angry because Zayn allegedly committed to showing up but was nowhere to be seen on the day of the performance, instead choosing to tweet his support.
Suffice to say, these two aren’t making up anytime soon.
3. Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal
In what can only be described as one of the most iconic rivalries in sports history, tennis stars Federer and Nadal can’t always prevent things from getting overly contentious. They have played each other 40 times and Federer has won 20 major titles while Nadal has won 19. As first and second on the men’s all-time list for the most major titles, it’s only fitting that their relationship is one of both begrudging respect and adversary.
In 2012, Nadal wanted major changes to be made to the Australian Open tournament. Particularly, he advocated for a shift in the way prize money was distributed and had the support of many athletes. When Federer refused to get behind the endeavour, Nadal verbally lashed out, accusing Federer of making everyone else look bad because of his passive attitude.
The two have since hashed it out. After all, sportsmanship is the name of the game. However, Nadal got married in October of 2019 and Federer reported being surprised that he was not invited to the wedding.
What will become of these friends and infamous rivals? It’s anyone’s guess.
2. Kanye and Kim vs. Taylor Swift
Okay, real talk. This list could be entirely comprised of Kim, Kanye and Taylor’s feuds with different celebrities. So I figured I’d discuss them all in one fell swoop.
Let’s rewind to 2009 (I realize the fight technically didn’t start in the 2010s but let me live). Taylor had just defeated Beyoncé to win a Best Female Video award at the MTV Awards when Kanye jumped on stage, interrupted Taylor’s speech and proclaimed what a great video Beyoncé had. While he eventually apologized, that didn’t stop Taylor from throwing shade at his immaturity in her song “Innocent” in 2010. Angered, Kanye claimed she was using him for publicity.
Everything was calm for a while until Kanye released his song “Famous” in which he asserts that he made Taylor popular, once again rehashing the past. Both Kanye and his wife Kim Kardashian said that Taylor knew about the song lyrics. Kim released a recording of the alleged phone call in which she agreed and used snake emojis in reference to Taylor.
Taylor continued to deny any knowledge of the lyrics, embracing the snake emoji and using it in her album “Reputation.”
Remove these three from the industry and gossip magazines would be dead in the water.
1. Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton
Two heads of the most prominent political parties in an ideologically-torn landscape? These two were destined to fight to the point of seething hatred.
The 2016 election campaign was brutal – even by American political standards. It started with campaign promotions, jabs here and there, which is the rivalry most candidates face. When it became clear who the two main contenders were for election, Obama endorsed Clinton. Donald Trump took to Twitter to call her “crooked” to which she replied, “delete your account.”
In August of 2016, Donald Trump suggested that Second Amendment supporters could “stop” Clinton from instating gun laws and this was interpreted violently. She soon after called him bigoted and deplorable. By the time the official debates rolled around, Trump was threatening to jail Clinton if he was elected. When he did win, the insults only continued, proving that their hatred went beyond the competition.
2020 elections are coming up and Trump has already shaded Clinton to bolster his re-election chances. Who knows, they might also make the “Best Celebrity Fights of the 2020s list.”
There’s no shortage of celebrity drama, but these rivalries are ones for the ages.