Taylor Swift Says Her Girl Squad Didn’t Go the Way She Thought It Would

Taylor Swift has no shortage of famous friends. The multimillionaire has been best friends with Selena Gomez for over a decade. She’s also got a ton of other famous musicians in her inner circle, including Ed Sheeran, Lorde, HAIM, and the like. And the actor has openly admitted that celebrity couple, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, are always the second and third people she plays new music for. However, Swift’s inner circle used to be even bigger, especially in the days of her infamous girl squad.

Many members of Taylor Swift’s girl squad were featured in the ‘Bad Blood’ music video

Swift’s squad was at its peak in 2014 when she did the music video for “Bad Blood.” There were a number of models, musicians, and actors who came together for the video. But the friendships seemed to extend beyond a working relationship. During that time, Swift was seen walking red carpets with many of her famous pals. She also was known to throw 4th of July parties and fun get together for her famous friends.

The ‘All Too Well’ singer admits her squad wasn’t perceived the way she intended it

However, Swift’s squad seems to have fizzled out in the years since. Though she still appears close with some original members, she seems to have drifted from others. Swift tends to keep her friendships a little bit more private these days. Furthermore, she seems to have rethought the way her squad was perceived in the media and in the entertainment industry. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Swift confessed that she had regrets about the way her squad was viewed from the outside in.

“Yeah, I never would have imagined that people would have thought, ‘This is a clique that wouldn’t have accepted me if I wanted to be in it,'” Swift shared. “Holy s***, that hit me like a ton of bricks. I was like, “Oh, this did not go the way that I thought it was going to go.'”

What was the songwriter’s vision for her squad?

Continuing on, Swift shared how a bit about how she thought her girl squad would be perceived. “I thought it was going to be we can still stick together, just like men are allowed to do,” she revealed. “The patriarchy allows men to have bro packs. If you’re a male artist, there’s an understanding that you have respect for your counterparts.”

Swift may not have a squad anymore, but she has shared how important her friendships are to her. But how does someone as famous as the multimillionaire even pick friends? In an interview with Good Morning America, Swift listed her main criteria.

How does Swift choose her friends now?

“I choose my friends based on people I have things in common with or people who challenge me,” Swift explained. Some of Swift’s best friends, like Lorde and Hayley Kiyoko, have even challenged her publically. In the aforementioned Rolling Stone interview, Swift got candid about that criticism.

“Some of my best friendships came from people publicly criticizing me and then it opening up a conversation,” Swift shared. “Hayley Kiyoko was doing an interview and she made an example about how I get away with singing about straight relationships and people don’t give me shit the way they give her shit for singing about girls — and it’s totally valid. Like, Ella — Lorde — the first thing she ever said about me publicly was a criticism of my image or whatever.”

It seems that Swift is a bit more open to criticism than she was in the past, be it from her friends or the media. And while she may not have a public-facing “squad” anymore, she’s clearly found lasting friendships.