Taylor Swift was named Time magazine's 2023 Person of the Year, but she made sure to thank the women who continue to inspire her. In her first full interview in nearly four years, the singer lavished praise on Beyoncé while also talking about how people pitted her landmark Eras tour and record-breaking Renaissance World Tour against each other.
"She's the most precious gem of a person — warm, open, funny," Swift said, explaining how Bey influenced her business acumen. “She was a huge disruptor of the norms in the music industry,” she said. “She taught every artist how to flip the table and challenge age-old business practices.”
world tour comparison
One problem Swift ran into, however, was how to constantly draw comparisons as their two stadium tours took them all over the summer to perform around the world.
"There's a lot of stadium tours going on this summer, but the only one being compared is me and Beyoncé," she said. "Clearly it's very profitable for the media and stan culture to pit two women against each other, even if the two artists refuse to participate in the discussion."
How Bey and Tay support each other
When Beyoncé attended the premiere of the Eras Tour movie in October after she struck a similar deal with AMC for her own concert film, the two largely dismissed the unfair comparison . After the group photo, Swift paid tribute to the music icon on Instagram, posting a clip of them throwing popcorn (from an Eras Tour can) at the screening.
"I'm so happy I'll never know what my life would have been like without @beyonce's influence," she wrote at the time. "She taught me and every artist here the way to break the rules and challenge industry norms. Her generosity of spirit. Her resilience and versatility. She has been a guiding light throughout my career, and her presence tonight was like a A true fairy tale.”
In return, Swift attended the London premiere of the Renaissance film on November 30. "Invited to London by the Queen..." she wrote on Instagram, along with another photo of her and Bey together. “ Renaissance: Beyoncé’s Movie is out now!!”
