7 Strict Standards Taylor Swift Sets For Her Friends
Being Taylor Swift's friend comes with some conditions.
Press Line Photos | Shutterstock Taylor Swift is one of the biggest names in pop culture today. With legions of fans, a record-breaking tour, and a collection of prestigious awards, Swift has carved out her own niche in the music industry and practically created a culture that revolves around her.
One of the things Swift is best known for is her large group of friends, often referred to as her “girl squad.” While these friendships may appear perfect from the outside, balanced out by both fellow celebrities and women Swift grew up with, nothing is really ever as it seems. In reality, it seems like Swift holds her friends to some pretty high standards that have even led to a few public friendship breakups.
1. Honesty is the best policy.
Swift definitely sticks to the golden rule when it comes to her friendships and her life in general. She is known for being transparent in her songs, probably to a point that some would argue is too honest, but is nevertheless appreciated by fans. She once said, “Don’t ever regret being honest. Period.”
One instance of honesty not taking center stage in a friendship that failed comes from Swift and Karlie Kloss. The two became friends in 2012 and were incredibly close for years. At one point, Swift even told Rolling Stone that she had a guest bedroom in her house that was dedicated to Kloss. They were as close as besties could be, until it all unraveled.
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Rumors started swirling that the pair had a falling out around 2017, according to Cosmopolitan, and their once inseparable bond seemed to have been severed. As Newsweek pointed out, many Swifties believe that Swift and Kloss ended their friendship because of Scooter Braun, with whom Swift has had an ongoing public dispute, and who manages Kloss’ career. Some fans believe Kloss used her friendship with Swift to feed Braun information about her and how he could best hurt her, which is obviously a major breach of honesty.
It’s speculated that Swift addressed the Kloss drama in her song “it’s time to go.” Specifically, it featured the lyrics, “When the words of a sister come back in whispers that prove she was not in fact what she seemed, not a twin from your dreams. She’s a crook who was caught.”
2. Don’t go behind her back.
Swift clearly does not like it when a friend goes behind her back — and really, who does? This is best evidenced by her fallout with fellow music superstar Katy Perry. The two singers were once friendly, but after Perry allegedly tried to hire some of Swift’s backup dancers right before one of her arena tours began, Swift had had enough. Her hit “Bad Blood” is commonly believed to be about Perry.
While Swift never named Perry in relation to the song or the situation as a whole, she did admit “Bad Blood” was written about a woman in the music industry. She told Rolling Stone, “For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not. 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?’”
No one would like it if someone they thought was a friend turned around and stabbed them in the back, and Swift is clearly no different. While most of us have not retaliated with a song written about the former friend when this has happened, it’s understandable that Swift would want to be able to trust her friends to have her best interests at heart.
3. Be loyal to the squad.
Loyalty is something most of us would admit to prizing, so it’s no surprise that this is one of the standards Swift holds her friends to. Over the years, she has certainly had the chance to learn who her true friends are and holds them close.
For example, HuffPost reported on a Kanye West listening party that was attended by squad members Gigi Hadid and Jaime King. At the party, West revealed his now-infamous unflattering lyric about Swift, just one piece of their years-long feud. Both women quickly took to X (then Twitter) to defend their friend and say they had no idea such a thing would be said.
When Swift’s feud with Braun began, her true friends once again rallied around her, posting messages of support. Some questioned the loyalty of other friends, like Ed Sheeran, who did not speak out publicly. According to USA Today, Sheeran assured a fan that he was very much involved in the situation in an Instagram comment, in which he wrote, “I have been speaking directly to her, like I always do.”
Everyone wants their loved ones to be loyal to them, and superstars are no different. In fact, with the image she has to uphold, it may be even more of a priority for people like Swift.
4. Don’t drag her into public problems.
While Swift has had her fair share of feuds over the years, she doesn’t really like being dragged into other people’s drama, even when they’re close friends. Much like Sheeran, she would typically prefer to support from the sidelines, quietly and privately. Fans have seen this firsthand during the alleged drama between Swift and close friend Blake Lively.
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Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, have historically been some of Swift’s closest friends, with her being named the godmother of their children. Now that Lively is wrapped up in the middle of an intense legal battle with Justin Baldoni over his behavior on the set of their film "It Ends With Us," People Magazine reported that Lively and Swift’s friendship had “halted.” An anonymous source told the outlet, “Taylor wants no part in this drama.”
Another source reassured the magazine and fans alike that Swift and Lively had not ended their friendship, but were simply “taking some space.” The pair, who have been close since 2014, will probably not completely fracture their deep friendship over the legal issues. Still, it’s clear that Swift does not appreciate being pulled into Lively’s problems with Baldoni, showing that she wants to stay out of other people’s drama.
5. Respect her privacy.
Similarly, Swift cherishes friends who understand the importance of respecting her privacy. As one of the most famous celebrities in the world, Swift doesn’t have much of a private life and has fought to keep things like her romantic relationships as far out of the spotlight as possible. She doesn’t want her dirty laundry aired for the whole world, and friends have to understand that.
Swift was notoriously private when she was with actor Joe Alwyn, her beau before current boyfriend, Travis Kelce. The couple was often seen running from the doors at a restaurant or party to get in their waiting car as fast as possible to avoid paparazzi. Fans believe the song “Paris” is about Alwyn, which features the lyrics, “Privacy sign on the door, and on my page, and on the whole world. Romance is not dead if you keep it just yours.”
Swift seems to have carried this energy over from her love life to her friendships as well. Her friends are notoriously tight-lipped about her personal life and rarely say anything about the singer beyond praising her for her music or work ethic. It’s clear that Swift likes to stay out of the spotlight whenever possible.
6. Support her through the hard times.
Swift has had her share of challenges, like when Kim Kardashian and Kanye West tried to ruin her career and credibility, or when Scooter Braun bought her entire music catalog against her will. During these times, Swift has shown that she treasures friends who are really there for her and support her no matter what happens.
When Swift struggled to get the rights to her music back from Braun, an effort which was ultimately unsuccessful, friends like Halsey took to social media to show their support for her. “I am standing with her,” she said. Notably, not long after, Swift included Halsey in a performance at the American Music Awards, her first big appearance since the drama ensued.
Just like any normal human being, Swift wants support from the people she cares about the most when she needs it. She has been very lucky to have it in most situations.
7. Forgiveness is key.
Although Swift may be known for her share of feuds and drama, it’s clear that she believes in forgiveness and holds her friends to this standard. For example, when West infamously interrupted Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2009, Swift was able to forgive him afterwards, even presenting him with an award at the VMAs in 2015, per Billboard.
Of course, shortly after, their feud was reignited when West called her out in one of his songs and attempted to destroy her career with his wife, Kim Kardashian, by releasing secretly recorded phone calls.
On a happier note, Swift has also been able to find it in her heart to forgive Perry. After years of speculation that the two were friends again after their huge fight, they confirmed it with Perry appearing in Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down” music video, in which they embraced.
Swift may seem ruthless to some, but she’s not above admitting when she’s wrong and forgiving someone who put her through something hard. She surely holds her other friends to the same standard, expecting them to do the same.
While Taylor Swift is known for being plagued by drama in her career and personal life, she tries to keep that drama far away from her friends. Swift is no stranger to drama and feuds, but she does her best to keep that out of her friendships and knows when it’s time to forgive. She treats her friends well, and they do the same for her.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
