Why People Think Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish Are Beefing

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Does Taylor Swift have beef with Billie Eilish, and vice versa?

It’s possible… However, when everything began, the evidence was pretty circumstantial. As ever, fans tend to inflate the supposed importance of everything that could possibly be “about” their favorite performer, and pitting two women in the music industry against each other is apparently fun for some people.

The alleged beef originally started with some honest criticism about how the music industry's effect on the environment—which applied to many artists not named Taylor Swift—but Swifties instantly decided Eilish was coming for their favorite artist. However, things began to heat up when Eilish released her latest album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, which is currently battling for the top spot on the charts against Swift's double-hitter, The Tortured Poets Department.

Now, it's getting a little harder to separate Eilish's more recent quotes about the industry from Swift's Eras Tour and album promotion. So, is this a feud, one-sided beef, or a whole lot of nothing? Here’s everything you need to know.

What started the alleged issue?

In March 2024, Eilish gave an interview in which she mentioned that artists putting out multiple editions of their albums on vinyl was a waste of resources. (Vinyl albums help boost the “physical sales” data of a record, which boosts its ranking in the charts.)

“We live in this day and age where, for some reason, it’s very important to some artists to make all sorts of different vinyl and packaging … which ups the sales and ups the numbers and gets them more money,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “I can’t even express to you how wasteful it is. It is right in front of our faces and people are just getting away with it left and right.”

She continued, “Then it’s some of the biggest artists in the world making fucking 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more. It’s so wasteful, and it’s irritating to me that we’re still at a point where you care that much about your numbers and you care that much about making money — and it’s all your favorite artists doing that shit.”

Many took this as a message to Swift, who isn’t the only artist to release multiple vinyl editions, but she is known for having so many editions that even some fans are frustrated. Swift also has a not-that-great reputation with regard to the environment due to her private jet usage, though her representatives have stated that she buys carbon credits to offset her jets’ emissions.

There is also a feeling among the fandoms that Swift may be envious of Eilish’s two Oscars, as Swift has written a number of songs for movies but never gotten a nomination (nor did her “All Too Well” short film make it on to the nom list), though the evidence, again, is just that…they both write songs for movies.

What have they each said about it?

In April, Eilish clarified that her comments were not directed at any one person, and that she meant to highlight waste in the music industry, writing on Instagram Stories, “Okay so it would be so awesome if people would stop putting words into my mouth and actually read what i said in that Billboard article. I wasn’t singling anyone out, these are industry-wide systemic issues. & when it comes to variants, so many artists release them - including ME! which i clearly state in the article. The climate crisis is now and it’s about all of us being part of the problem and trying to do better sheesh.”

Neither Swift nor her representatives have addressed Eilish’s comments at all.

What happened next?

As compiled in this Reddit post, Swift has recently (as of Wednesday, May 22) been releasing bonus editions and remixes of her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, which came out a month ago. This is pretty par for the course for Swift, who does try to maximize her time at the top of the charts, and has for pretty much every modern album. However, Eilish fans believe this is a deliberate move to “block” Eilish’s new album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, from the number-one spot on the charts.

Additionally, Swift released a remix of her single “Fortnight” by music producer BLOND:ISH, who is known for her environmental activism. This could be interpreted as a deliberate response to Eilish, or, in the vein of other TTPD tracks, a response to the fans and critics who point out her private jet usage.

But what about Hit Me Hard and Soft?

Some Eilish and Swift fans already found it pretty odd that Hit Me Hard and Soft was released with eight vinyl variants, considering Eilish's take on the practice. Still, it's important to note that the black record is made from “100% recycled black vinyl” and the seven other colors are made from “ECO-MIX or BioVinyl.”

But then, on May 22, Eilish released two limited-edition digital albums for purchase, sparking more confusion from fans who thought Eilish's quotes meant she didn't care as much about chart placement and money as other artists.

The original Reddit post also notes that Kim Kardashian, not exactly Swift’s bestie, received a promo package for Eilish’s new album, further fanning “feud” flames.

But the chart battle didn't end there.

On May 23—amid the ongoing battle for that top spot on the charts—Swift released three new digital albums, each including a different live recording from her Paris Eras Tour shows.

Then things got a bit more personal.

Listen, these kinds of chart battles are pretty par for the course and Eilish's quotes on the environment were definitely valid. But then Eilish went on the record saying 3-hour concerts are “literally psychotic.”

“I’m not doing a three-hour show,” she said during a discussion on the Stationhead app on May 23, per Us Weekly. “Nobody wants that. You guys don’t want that. I don’t want that. I don’t even want that as a fan. My favorite artist in the world, I’m not trying to hear them for three hours.”

To Swift fans, this was a pretty blatant jab at Swift's Eras Tour. Like the environmental comments, this could apply to other artists, but the timing of the quote is particularly suspicious.

However, some fans are pointing out a previous interview, in which Eilish directly referred to Beyoncé and Taylor Swift as “untouchable superstars” for their “ability to put on a show that long” when she finds it “really hard to play stadiums.”

One more thing!

Billie Eilish is signed to Interscope Records, and Taylor Swift is signed to Republic Records, both of which are owned by Universal Music Group, and I personally would not put it past a crafty UMG PR executive to fabricate a chart war to get both artists’ fan bases to buy the music. Juuuuust saying.

So, TL;DR: Are Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish competing? Almost definitely. Is there any personal animosity? Doubtful.

This post may be updated.

Originally Appeared on Glamour