Hollywood has brought us some of the most iconic celebrity friendships, from Taylor Swift and Blake Lively to Jay-Z and Kanye West, among many others. But like many duos in the entertainment world, some of these once-strong bonds eventually fell apart.
As they say, nothing lasts forever, and so here are five celebrity friendships that ended in drama.
Winona Ryder and Gwyneth Paltrow
The ’90s duo of once-inseparable Winona Ryder and Gwyneth Paltrow made many women dream of having a friendship as close as theirs.
They weren’t just best friends; they even lived together for a time. However, everything changed when they both pursued the role of Viola de Lesseps in the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love.
While Winona reportedly received the script first and was considered a strong contender, Paltrow made her move by asking her agent to secure an audition after reading it.
We all know how it turned out: Gwyneth landed the role, earned widespread acclaim, and even won her first Oscar for Best Actress. By the 2000s, the two were never seen together again.
Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton
Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton often made headlines for their on-again, off-again friendship. The two first became friends in preschool and eventually grew up together, with the reality star even working for the Hilton socialite later on.
However, after Kim catapulted into stardom, thanks to her adult tape with Ray J and the 2007 debut of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, the pair began to drift apart.
Paris even publicly dissed Kim in 2008, saying she hated her former friend’s bottom, calling it “gross” and comparing it to “cottage cheese inside a big trash bag.”
Although Paris later apologized, Kim confirmed in 2011 that they had stopped talking and had “grown apart.”
Anyhow, they appear to be on good terms today, having reunited at Kris Jenner’s Christmas Eve party in 2016, with Paris modeling for Kim’s Skims brand in 2020, and Kim attending Paris’s wedding to Carter Reum in 2021.
Kanye West and Jay-Z
Kanye West and Jay-Z were once one of the strongest collaborative duos in hip-hop. Their working relationship began in 2000 and eventually led to the release of their joint album Watch the Throne and a tour of the same name.
However, by 2016, the Yeezy founder publicly blasted the Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder, criticizing him for not arranging a playdate for their kids and for failing to check on him and his then-wife, Kim Kardashian, after she was robbed in Paris.
“Don’t call me after the robbery and say, ‘How you feelin’?’” Kanye said on stage. “You wanna know how I’m feelin’? Come by the house … Bring the kids by the house like we brothers … Our kids ain’t never even played together.”
Although they eventually reconciled, Kanye reignited tensions again later on, taking aim not only at Jay-Z but also at his children, Sir and Rumi, and even questioning their mental capacities.
James Franco and Seth Rogen
James Franco and Seth Rogen’s friendship began when they first met on the set of Freaks and Geeks. From there, they went on to collaborate on multiple projects.
The two grew so close that James even revealed he had written poems about their bond. However, their friendship began to unravel when James faced several sexual harassment allegations, with multiple women accusing The Deuce actor of “inappropriate or exploitative behavior.”
By 2021, Seth admitted that the allegations had “changed many things in our relationship and our dynamic,” and he publicly stated that he had no plans to work with James again.
Taylor Swift and Blake Lively
Of course, to top off the list is the recent fallout between Taylor Swift and Blake Lively. These two celebrities were once extremely close and were often seen together.
In fact, Taylor became the godmother of Blake’s three daughters with Ryan Reynolds and even included the children’s names in her song “Betty.” Blake, on the other hand, directed one of Taylor’s music videos.
However, they reportedly began to grow estranged after Blake allegedly used Taylor’s influence to “pressure” her It Ends With Us co-star and director, Justin Baldoni, into accepting her rewritten version of a scene following her harassment lawsuit filing.
Blake also allegedly invited Taylor to a meeting where she presented the revised scripts to Baldoni and even referred to the pop star as one of her protective “dragons” in text messages.
Since then, the two have not been seen together, and a source revealed that Taylor was baffled to be called a “dragon” by her best friend and felt “used” by Blake.
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