Taylor Swift Opens Up About Her Friendship with Beyoncé: ‘She’s the Most Precious Gem of a Person’

The pop star was named Time's 2023 Person of the Year and spoke about her friendship with the superstar in the cover interview

Karma takes all of Taylor Swift’s friends to the summit — including Beyoncé.

Swift, 33, is Time's 2023 Person of the Year and in the cover interview she spoke candidly about her friendship with the fellow pop superstar, 42. Not only did the singer-songwriter call Queen Bey “the most precious gem of a person,” she opened up about how challenging it was to see some on social media compare their equally acclaimed, record-shattering Eras and Renaissance tours.

“She’s the most precious gem of a person — warm and open and funny,” Swift said of the pop icon, whom she recently supported by attending the London premiere of her concert film Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé.

Related: Taylor Swift and Beyoncé’s Friendship Timeline

“And she’s such a great disrupter of music-industry norms,” the “Cruel Summer” singer continued. “She taught every artist how to flip the table and challenge archaic business practices.”

The hitmaker also told the outlet that it came as a frustration to see her stadium tour — which recently wrapped up its Latin American leg — and the “Break My Soul” artist’s 2023 run of shows described as if they were in contrast with one another.

“There were so many stadium tours this summer, but the only ones that were compared were me and Beyoncé,” she said. “Clearly it’s very lucrative for the media and stan culture to pit two women against each other, even when those two artists in question refuse to participate in that discussion.”

The pop star explained that she saw it as a triumph that their live shows, as well as the popularity of Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster Barbie, were so successful. According to the “Lavender Haze” singer, it was “a three-part summer of feminine extravaganza.”

Related: Taylor Swift Jokes About Her Reaction to Being Named Time 2023 Person of the Year: 'Can I Bring My Cat?'

“We’ve been taught that [things women gravitate towards] are more frivolous than the things that stereotypically gendered men gravitate toward, right?” she added. “And what has existed since the dawn of time? A patriarchal society. What fuels a patriarchal society? Money, flow of revenue, the economy. So actually, if we’re going to look at this in the most cynical way possible, feminine ideas becoming lucrative means that more female art will get made. It’s extremely heartening.”

Both of Swift and Beyoncé’s tours and their theatrical versions were incredibly lucrative. The Midnights artist’s Eras Tour movie became the highest opening for a concert film ever — bringing in $92.9 million domestically — while the “America’s Got a Problem” singer’s project was No. 1 at the box office and brought in $21 million in its opening weekend, per Variety.

The two Grammy winners have been vocal supporters of one another in recent months. The “Cuff It” singer stepped out at the Los Angeles premiere for The Eras Tour Film in October, and the “Shake It Off” artist returned the favor on Nov. 30 at the London event for Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé.

Related: Taylor Swift's Friends Say She's Always a 'Shoulder to Lean on' in Life (and During Breakups) (Exclusive)

When the Lemonade artist showed the folklore artist love at her premiere, Swift thanked her in a thoughtful post on Instagram.

“I’m so glad I’ll never know what my life would’ve been like without @beyonce‘s influence. The way she’s taught me and every artist out here to break rules and defy industry norms. Her generosity of spirit,” she wrote in the caption of a Boomerang of the two inside the movie theater.

“Her resilience and versatility,” she added. “She’s been a guiding light throughout my career and the fact that she showed up tonight was like an actual fairytale. 😇🙏🥹.”

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Swift’s close friend Blake Lively also recently opened up about how supportive, and what an inspiration, the two music icons’ friendship is. After attending the Renaissance movie premiere with Swift, the actress, 36, took to Instagram to share photos from the event and a sweet caption about seeing women uplift each other.

"When I grew up, women were always pit against one another It took me until adulthood to see that the instinct for women to lift each other up to their highest potential is the norm, not the exception,” she wrote. “Most of my best friends are women who would’ve been packaged to me as threats or competition. It’s our job to show younger generations the power in aligning rather than dividing.”

“All this to say, @beyonce and @taylorswift neither of you have to be threatened by my pop stardom,” Lively then jokingly added. “There’s space for us all.”

For more on Taylor Swift and her amazing year, pick up PEOPLE’s 2023 Most Intriguing People of the Year issue, on stands Friday.

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