Is Taylor Swift Still Friends With Her 2015 Squad? We Investigate

Back in 2015, it was rare to see Taylor Swift without at least one member of her iconic female friend group, AKA The Squad, by her side. Initially, it seemed like these famous women had incidentally connected because of their friendships with the "Cruel Summer" hitmaker and decided to create a group that could withstand the media's sexist remarks while creating a sense of community for its members. However, we only learned that Swift intentionally crafted her girls-only Squad — and for a good reason too — in the prologue for "1989 (Taylor's Version)," which was released in 2023.

The Grammy winner explained at the time that she had grown frustrated with the press sexualizing her friendships with men and slut-shaming Swift for her complex dating history. So, she made a few crucial changes: "I swore off dating and decided to focus only on myself, my music, my growth, and my female friendships. If I only hung out with my female friends, people couldn't sensationalize or sexualize that — right?" Unfortunately, as Swift sadly acknowledged, "I would learn later on that people could and people would," (via Today). 

The singer-songwriter was undoubtedly referring to the false rumor that Swift was secretly dating her former BFF Karlie Kloss. While The Squad stood strong as those stories continued to circulate, it could not withstand the sheer force of Swift's explosive feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian in 2016. She even seemingly addressed the end of The Squad in her 2017 poem, "Why She Disappeared," writing, "When she crashed, her clothes disintegrated and blew away / With the winds that took all of her fair-weather friends," (via E! News).

After Kim Kardashian posted a video, which was later revealed to be edited, purportedly showing Taylor Swift consenting to Kanye West's diss on "Famous," the backlash poured in, and #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty quickly started trending on X, formerly known as Twitter. At the time, Zendaya, a prominent member of The Squad, who appeared in the "Bad Blood" music video, reportedly liked and unliked tweets targeting her friend. One of the posts read, "I'm glad Zendaya was never really down with the whole squad s***." The other featured a side-by-side comparison of the "Challengers" star with Swift's friend group and Beyoncé's "Lemonade" visual album shoots. 

Since then, Zendaya and the "Blank Space" songstress haven't spoken about each other publicly whatsoever. Of course, she wasn't the only one who seemingly took a shot at the world-conquering pop star when she was down. In Karlie Kloss' August 2016 interview with The Sunday Times, she was asked about her thoughts on Kardashian, and the model rather controversially answered, "I think she's been a lovely person to me in the past. Look, I really don't know her that well." 

As users questioned her loyalty to the "Shake It Off" hitmaker, Kloss took to X to argue that the media was simply twisting her words and she was always in her friend's corner. While Kloss insisted that they were still close in the following years, the duo has hardly ever been spotted together again. Additionally, when the Victoria's Secret Angel attended The Eras Tour in August 2023, she was in the stands rather than the VIP tent, where Swift's friends were typically seated.

A few days after Kanye West debuted "Famous," Gigi Hadid was spotted at his Yeezy's Season 3 Fashion Show. However, she quickly took to X to make it clear that she was on her long-term friend Taylor Swift's side regardless. Their friendship continued to thrive during the feud, and the model has remained one of her most vocal supporters. After Swift called Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun out for the unconsented sale of her masters, Hadid shared an X post in support, writing, "Scott and Scooter, you know what the right thing to do is Taylor and her fans deserve to celebrate the music!!" per People. 

Their bond is equally sweet behind the scenes, as Hadid once shared an Instagram Story of her daughter Khai snuggled up in a blanket made by the "I Knew You Were Trouble" hitmaker. If all of that wasn't enough of a testament to their still close relationship, the in-demand supermodel also attended several Eras Tour shows and paid tribute to Swift during her Victoria's Secret Fashion Show runway strut in 2024.

Swift remains equally close with three other Squad members: The HAIM sisters. Alana, Este, and Danielle Haim have been a consistent presence in her life since 2014. They collaborated on Swift's 2020 track "No Body, No Crime," and she returned the favor by featuring on their song "Gasoline" the following year. The talented sisters even joined Swift on stage for a couple of Eras Tour shows to play their 2020 track.

Although Cara Delevingne and Taylor Swift were not publicly spotted together for several years after 2015, the A-listers' friendship seemingly thrived in private. After Swift fought back against Scooter Braun in 2019, his then-client Justin Bieber shared an Instagram post in the music mogul's defense. Delevingne evidently wasn't best pleased with the "Baby" hitmaker and left him a scathing comment to let him know: "I wish you spent less time sticking up for men and more time trying to understand women and respecting their valid reactions," (via Teen Vogue). The "Paper Towns" star continued, "As a married man, you should be lifting women up instead of tearing them down because you are threatened." 

Delevigne ultimately advised Bieber to avoid sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. While the British model was spotted supporting Swift at The Eras Tour in London, the "Betty" songstress returned the favor by cheering her friend on when she took the stage in the West End production of "Cabaret" in 2024. Swift similarly continues to share a predominantly private friendship with another key member of The Squad: Lena Dunham. 

The singer-songwriter served as a bridesmaid for the "Girls" star's intimate wedding to Luis Felber in September 2021. Meanwhile, Dunham showed up to the Eras Tour in 2024 to support her friend. Speaking to The New Yorker in July, she gushed about Swift: "She's kind, she's devoted, she's introspective, she's emotional, she's funny as f***." Dunham was equally happy to share that out of all of Swift's eras, "Reputation" was her absolute fave.

Abigail Anderson has been one of Taylor Swift's best friends since their high school days. Since she witnessed all the blood, sweat, and tears that the "Fortnight" songstress poured into her career, Anderson was understandably furious when Kanye West tried to take credit for her success in "Famous." Swift's longtime BFF shared several X posts to kill the "Stronger" rapper with kindness by noting that she hoped his daughter didn't view him as an unfaithful misogynist because of his songs. The world-conquering pop star remained similarly loyal to her bestie, serving as a bridesmaid at Anderson's wedding in October 2017, when she had notably sworn off public appearances. Meanwhile, when Anderson showed up to The Eras Tour in July 2023, the pop star serenaded her by playing "Fifteen," a track where she name-drops her. 

Selena Gomez is another member of The Squad who has stood by Swift's side through thick and thin since 2008. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal in 2020, the "Come & Get It" hitmaker shared that she instantly knew she had made a friend for life with her. "I have the ability to forgive people who have hurt me. But I don't know if I can forgive someone who hurts her," Gomez admitted. The former Disney star also confirmed that their friendship was even sweeter behind the scenes, explaining, "She has showed up for me in ways that I would have never expected. Flown in because I was hurt and was going through something. Stuff that was going on with my family."

Taylor Swift doesn't appear to be as close with a few members of The Squad as she once was. For instance, although Ruby Rose publicly defended her friend against Kanye West in 2016, and Katy Perry the following year, alongside wishing her a happy birthday in 2019, the two haven't had any public interactions in a hot minute. Likewise, the "Lover" songstress also doesn't appear to be close with Hailee Steinfeld anymore. Still, the "Edge of Seventeen" star was pleasantly surprised when Capital FM informed her that Swift may have taken inspiration from her portrayal of Emily Dickinson for her 2021 album "Evermore." 

However, there's a small chance they might rekindle their friendship when they show up at a Chiefs vs. Bills game to support their respective partners. Likewise, although the "Shake It Off" hitmaker doesn't publicly hang out with Martha Hunt, Claire Winter Kislinger, and Jaime King as much as before, they still appear to be pretty friendly. Kislinger and King, who made Swift a godmother to her son in 2016, attended different stops of the Eras Tour. 

Meanwhile, Hunt stepped out for a meal with the modern-day Squad in 2023. And on the other side of things is Lorde, who once told Sunrise that she didn't consider herself a Squad member. However, that doesn't mean they're not friends. In fact, in 2023, the "Green Light" singer shared an Instagram Story of her long-time friend gushing about her 2020 album "Melodrama" in a text. Still, suffice it to say that Swift's Squad looks very different today.