Not really, because Kesha’s desk had Beyonce photos and Sarah’s phone case was Taylor Swift lyrics and some unspoken rule said that meant they were on opposite sides. Dot. In spring 2024, Kesha bought tickets to the Renaissance tour film premiere. Sarah bought tickets to the US tour when it came to Texas. They mentioned it to each other casually.
Cool, Kesha said. When Sarah showed her tickets, have fun, Sarah said. When Kesha mentioned the premiere, both meant it. Neither said more. Then one day at lunch, Kesha was scrolling through her phone and laughed at something. What? Sarah asked. Just this tweet, Kesha said.
Someone saying Beyonce and Taylor should do a song together. And the replies are all they hate each other. And that would never happen. Do they? Sarah asked. Hate each other. Kesha paused. I mean, I don’t know. The fandoms do. But do they? Sarah pressed. Kesha thought about it. Actually, I don’t think they’ve ever said anything bad about each other ever.
Sarah pulled out her phone and started searching. 5 minutes later, they had a list. 2009, Beyonce gave Taylor her moment back at the VMAs. 2010, Taylor thanked Beyonce publicly for her grace. 2015, when Taylor had her moment with Kanye again, Beyonce stayed neutral, didn’t take sides. 2016, when the media tried to make them rivals over album releases, both stayed silent.
2021 when Taylor re-recorded her albums. Beyonce liked posts supporting her. 2023 Taylor praised Beyonce’s Renaissance at an interview. Called her the greatest living entertainer. 2024 Beyonce wore Taylor’s merch. Taylor brought Renaissance tour up in interviews. Wait, Kesha said slowly. They’ve been supporting each other this whole time.
While everyone else fought about them, Sarah said they looked at each other and something clicked. The next week, they did something crazy. Sarah bought a ticket to see Renaissance with Kesha. Kesha bought a resale ticket to Eris Tour and went with Sarah. They decided to actually listen to each other’s music instead of assuming it wasn’t for them.
Sarah listened to lemonade and cried at the poetry, the pain, the power of black womanhood she’d never tried to understand. Kesha listened to folklore and discovered storytelling that reminded her why she fell in love with music in the first place. They weren’t comparing, they were just listening. At the Renaissance film, Sarah watched Beyonce command a stage with a level of artistry that took her breath away.
She watched the crowd, mostly black women and queer people, sing every word with a joy and freedom that made her tear up. She’d been missing this, this celebration, this power. At the tour, Kesha watched Taylor connect with 70,000 people through vulnerability and storytelling. She watched the crowd, mostly young women of all races, scream lyrics about heartbreak and healing.
She’d been missing this, too. This emotion, this cathis. After both shows, they sat in Sarah’s car and talked for 3 hours. I’ve been an idiot, Kesha said. I’ve spent 15 years thinking Taylor wasn’t for me. Because what? Because the internet said so. Because she’s white. But I love storytelling. I love lyrics.
Why did I decide her music wasn’t for me before I even listened? I did the same thing, Sarah admitted. I never listened to Beyonce because I thought her music was for other people. Like I wasn’t allowed. But why? She’s incredible. Her artistry is insane. Why did I wait this long? Because we were taught to choose, Kesha said.
the industry, the media, the internet, they all told us we had to pick a side, that there wasn’t room for both. That supporting one meant rejecting the other. But Beyonce and Taylor never said that, Sarah pointed out. No, Kesha agreed. They never did. They started researching deeper. What they found was a pattern that went way beyond Beyonce and Taylor.
The music industry has always pitted women against each other. Madonna versus Cindy Laer. Brittney versus Christina. Mariah versus Whitney. Over and over the narrative was the same. Two talented women can’t coexist. Someone has to be better. Someone has to lose. But increasingly, the artists were refusing to play. Beyonce and Taylor were just the most visible example.
They’d spent 15 years supporting each other quietly while the world tried to make them fight. They’d never taken the bait, never said anything negative, never engaged with the rivalry narrative. They just kept making art and supporting other women. This isn’t just about them, Kesha realized. This is about all of us. About how we’re taught that women are in competition, that there’s only room for one queen, that supporting one woman means tearing another down, and about race, Sarah added carefully.
Can we talk about that? We need to, Kesha said. They talked about how the Beyonce Taylor narrative had racial undertones, how black artists are often positioned as threatening to white artists, how white fans are encouraged to stay in their lane, how the industry profits from racial division in music, how Beyonce and Taylor supporting each other was actually radical, not because crossracial friendship should be radical, but because the industry works so hard to prevent it.
The fact that we’re work friends but never talked about music. Kesha said that’s not normal. That’s conditioning. We’ve been at the same company for 2 years. Sarah said we eat lunch together three times a week. How did we never talk about something we both love? Because we thought we weren’t allowed to love the same things.
Kesha said because someone drew a line and told us to stay on our side. They decided to stop staying on their side. They started a group chat with other women from their office, black, white, Asian, Latina, all different backgrounds. They called it women supporting women and used it to share music they loved. No comparing, no ranking, just sharing.
Beyonce Taylor, Rihanna, Ariana, Lizo, Olivia Rodrigo, Said A, Sabrina Carpenter, everything. All of it. Some women were confused at first. But I thought we had to choose. That’s what they want you to think, Kesha would say. But the artists aren’t choosing. Why should we? The group grew. 30 women, then 50.
They started doing concert outings together. Mixed groups going to different shows. A Beyonce fan taking her Taylor fan friend to a raise. A Taylor fan taking her Beyonce fan friend to Renaissance. Not to convert anyone, just to share the joy. They noticed something interesting. The more they listened to different artists, the more they appreciated what made each one special.
Beyonce’s visual artistry and performance precision. Taylor’s songwriting and storytelling. They weren’t in competition because they weren’t trying to do the same thing. They were both queens of different kingdoms and there was room for all of it. We wasted so much time fighting a war the generals never wanted. Sarah said one night not wasted.
