Breakups are tough for us normal folk, but imagine being a celebrity with millions of followers on social media, all begging to know what went wrong?
When the the love between two famous personalities ends poorly, it’s certainly tough to resist throwing a little (or a lot of) shade at the one who broke your heart. And sometimes, the actors and rockstars give into the pressure.
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Whether its via song, on social media or live on an awards stage, check out some of the saltiest shades celebrities have thrown at their ex-lovers. But before you start scrolling through these savage disses, know you’ll be seeing quite a bit of shade queen Taylor Swift on the list.
Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake:
Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears were the hottest young couple of the late ’90s and early ’00s. The duo started dating in 1999, years after meeting on Disney’s The Mickey Mouse Club. Timberlake and Spears saw sparks while on tour together in 1998-1999 and their love played out publicly until their split in 2002.
Shortly after what he called a “heartbreaking” split, Timberlake released the song “Cry Me a River,” which is said to have been written in direct response to the breakup, which was rumored to been a result of an affair between Spears and choreographer Wade Robson.
“In the past, suffering has helped me compose songs. ‘Cry Me a River’ was written in a time of pain, like everyone knows,” Timberlake told Vanity Fair Italia in 2016.
But speaking to Rolling Stone in 2011, Spears gave a scathing review of the “Cry Me a River” music video, which famously starred a doppelgänger of the pop princess. “I think it looks like such a desperate attempt, personally. But that was a great way to sell the record. He’s smart [laughs]. Smart guy,” she said.
Taylor Swift and Joe Jonas:
Young musicians Taylor Swift and Joe Jonas clung together from July to October 2008. But not long after Jonas dumped a then 18-year-old Swift over the phone, she blasted him on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
“When I find that person that is right for me, he’ll be wonderful. And when I look at that person, I’m not even gonna be able to remember the boy who broke up with me over the phone in 25 seconds when I was 18,” she said.
That same year, the “Fearless” singer mentioned her ex’s phone call again in a video shared on MySpace. Holding a Joe Jonas Camp Rock doll and one of herself, Swift said, “See this one even comes with a phone, see, so he can break up with other dolls… Stay away from him, OK?”
In late 2009, the scorned singer went for the eldest Jonas brother again during her Saturday Night Live opening monologue. “I like writing songs about douchebags who cheat on me… I like writing their names into songs so that they’re ashamed to go in public,” she sang with her guitar in hand, likely referencing “Forever and Always,” one of many songs Swift would write about an ex-lover.
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck:
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck met on the set of Pearl Harbor in 2000 and “fell in love” while filming 2002’s Daredevil. Despite their attraction, Garner was married to Scott Foley and Affleck proposed to girlfriend Jennifer Lopez. It wasn’t until Garner’s divorce in 2003 and Affleck calling off his engagement in 2004 that they took their friendship to the next level to become a couple of their own, and married in a private ceremony in June 2005.
But 10 years of marriage and three kids later, the pair shockingly split in June 2015 after Affleck reportedly cheated on his wife with their nanny, Christine, who tipped off paparazzi so they would be spotted together.
Though they did not file for divorce until April 2017, Garner spoke candidly to Vanity Fair in 2016 about the “nannygate” scandal, claiming that Christine “was not a part of the equation.”
She seemingly shaded Affleck in the interview by borrowing a line from his BFF Matt Damon’s film, The Talented Mr. Ripley: “I always say, ‘When his sun shines on you, you feel it.’ But when the sun is shining elsewhere, it’s cold. He can cast quite a shadow.”
Katy Perry and Diplo:
Katy Perry stirred up yet major online controversy when she ranked three of her former boyfriends (John Mayer, Orlando Bloom and Diplo) by their sexual performance to James Corden, host of CBS’s The Late Late Show, while promoting her album, Witness, in 2017.
The “I Kissed a Girl” singer made sure to compliment all their bedroom talents, saying, “They’re all amazing lovers and I would have sex with all of them when I get out of this place!” But that didn’t stop her from ranking Mayer first, Bloom second and Diplo, producer and member of Major Lazer, in last.
When her ex, whom Perry dated for several months in 2014, heard the ranking, he didn’t take kindly to it and shaded the singer on Twitter.
“I don’t even remember having sex,” he wrote.
In another tweet, he shared a photo of himself at the Spring Awakening Music Festival in Chicago overlooking a sea of fans. He captioned the photo, “I won the bronze medal in sex Olympics.”
Taylor Swift and Harry Styles:
Taylor Swift and former One Direction singer Harry Styles cozied up in fall 2012 until January 2013, when they reportedly split because of their busy schedules. But based on their awkward attitudes toward one another and the songs that inevitably came out of the short-lived romance, there may have been more behind the story of their demise.
Besides writing songs about Styles (“I Knew You Were Trouble” and “Style,” among others) Swift also delivered performances about her ex-boyfriend.
In 2013, the pop star opened the Grammy Awards with “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” a song that is actually about Jake Gyllenhaal, with Styles watching in the audience. During the spoken bridge of the song, Swift used a British accent and tweaked the lyrics to “I’m busy opening the Grammys.”
Later that year, in her acceptance speech for Best Female Video for “I Knew You Were Trouble” at the MTV Video Music Awards, she thanked “the person who inspired this song, who knows exactly who he is, because now I got one of these. Thank you so much!” Swift was also caught mumbling “shut the f— up” during One Direction’s acceptance speech at the ceremony.
Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber:
While Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber met in 2009, they didn’t make their red carpet debut as a couple until February 2011. The pair, shipped Jelena, dated for 18 months before their first breakup, then they spent years doing the on-and-off relationship dance.
And between those reconciliations, the couple has thrown major shade at one another, including their public brawl on social media in 2016 after Bieber shared a photo of himself and Sofia Richie.
“I’m gonna make my Instagram private if you guys don’t stop the hate this is getting out of hand, if you guys are really fans you wouldn’t be so mean to people that I like,” he wrote after Jelena fans began trolling Richie online.
But Gomez fueled the fire, commenting, “If you can’t handle the hate then stop posting pictures of your girlfriend lol… It should be special between you two only. Don’t be mad at your fans. They love and supported you before anyone ever did.”
Bieber didn’t appreciate his ex’s advice, so he kept the heated conversation going. “It’s funny to see people that used me for attention and still try to point the finger this way. Sad. All love. I’m not one for receiving any kind of hate. Hope u all can be kind to my friends and each other. And yes I love my beliebers,” he wrote.
“Funny how the ones that cheated multiple times, are the ones pointing the finger at the ones that were forgiving and supportive,” Gomez savagely replied. No wonder fans are mad. Sad. All love.” Following her comment, Bieber admitted he cheated on his ex, but also accused her of cheating with One Direction member Zayn Malik.
The episode ended with Gomez apologizing on Snapchat and Bieber deleting his Instagram entirely, but he reactivated his social media later — and the lovers reactivated their relationship later in 2017.
Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris:
After 15 months of dating in 2015-2016, Swift and DJ Calvin Harris called their relationship quits and began a battle over the songwriting credits to his hit featuring Rihanna, “This Is What You Came For.”
Swift’s rep confirmed that she used the pseudonym Nils Sjoberg to write the song, then Harris clapped back in a series of now-deleted tweets, referencing the drama and her ongoing feud with Katy Perry. “Please focus on the positive aspects of YOUR life because you’ve earned a great one… I know you’re off on tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy ETC but I’m not that guy, sorry. I won’t allow it.”
He also referenced Swift’s new relationship at the time with Tom Hiddleston, writing, “I figure if you’re happy in your new relationship you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down for something to do.”
Following the Nils Sjoberg drama, Swift brought the name back when she rose from the dead near his tombstone in her “Look What You Made Me Do” music video. When she later released her Reputation album and magazines, she reminded the world again of her work as Nils, adding “Written by: Taylor Swift aka Nils Sjoberg” on the “…Ready For It?” lyrics page.
Perrie Edwards and Zayn Malik:
Little Mix band member Perrie Edwards and former One Direction singer Zayn Malik started dating in 2012 and became engaged in 2013. But when the pop pair split in August 2015, their breakup was nothing short of a spectacle in Hollywood as it was rumored he broke things off via text message.
While it’s unclear whether or not Malik really ended their engagement with his phone and fast fingers, Little Mix’s “Shout Out to My Ex” is definitely about him. The hit boasts, “I hope she gettin’ better sex / Hope she ain’t fakin’ it like I did, babe / Took four long years to call it quits / Forget that boy, I’m over it,” referencing Malik’s apparent subpar performance in bed, as well as his new girlfriend, model Gigi Hadid.
“Guess I should say thank you / For the ‘hate yous’ and the tattoos / Oh baby, I’m cool by the way / Ain’t sure I loved you anyway,” the song also says, which is a clear reference to Malik’s famous tattoo for Edwards, which has since been covered up.
Rihanna and all her exes:
Rather than waste her energy shading them individually, Rihanna took down all of her exes, including Drake, Chris Brown, Matt Kemp and even rumored lover Leonardo DiCaprio, with a single Instagram post.
The “Wild Thoughts” singer posted a text graphic on social media in October 2016 to call out her failed relationships, claiming that a single parallel proves they weren’t her fault.
“None of my exs are married or in happy relationships so it’s safe to say that I wasn’t da problem lol,” the graphic read. Rihanna’s simple post shaded all over her past lovers and simultaneously helped her rack up nearly one million likes on Instagram.
