Taylor Swift's Subtle Nod to Beyoncé

Taylor Swift once again shut down rumors of a rivalry with Beyoncé, with a subtle satirical gesture.

The 34-year-old singer was photographed out and about in New York City on Thursday wearing a pair of sneakers from Beyoncé's athleisure brand, Ivy Park.

Swift was spotted rocking the sandy beige "Savage" design. A collaboration between Ivy Park and Adidas, the style is a throwback to the German sportswear brand's iconic 1990's low-top sneakers and costs around $179.99.

The Grammy winner paired the shoes with black leggings, a beige tiger-stripe fleece jacket and a pair of cat-eye sunglasses, with her signature long blonde hair tied back in a pony tail.

Fans believed the sneakers were a low-key nod to Queen Bey, with social media users on X, formerly Twitter, calling the duo "queens."

"Taylor [and] Beyoncè - always supporting each other," X user James wrote.

"OH YASSSSSSSS," wrote Adrian.

"Queens supporting queens! Classy as hell!" commented user Rebecca Matney.

Beyoncé in 2021 (left). Taylor Swift 2023
Beyoncé is seen onstage during the 63rd annual Grammy Awards on March 14, 2021, in Los Angeles. Taylor Swift is seen on November 30, 2023, in London. Fans clocked a subtle nod to Queen Bey... Kevin Winter/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Entertainment/WireImage

The music icons both launched hugely successful world tours in 2023, leading to comparisons online—despite their very different sounds.

Beyoncé's Renaissance tour, which ran from May 10 to October 1, added $90 million to the 42-year-old's net worth. The singer performed in 39 locations across Europe and North America, earning $579 million globally.

Dubbed the "Beyoncé Bump," the Renaissance tour contributed an estimated $4.5 million to the U.S. economy. For a brief period, it was the highest-grossing tour ever by a female artist, until Swift's Eras tour took the top spot.

Initially scheduled to run from March to August, the Eras tour has been extended, with both national and international dates added until December 2024.

So far, the pop star has pocketed in $1 billion in ticket sales, making her Eras tour both the highest-grossing tour by a female artist and the highest-grossing tour of all time.

Like Beyoncé, Swift's earning power has also broadened to the towns and cities that she performs in. The "Anti-Hero" singer has boosted the economy of every tour location in the U.S., with Swifties spending an extra $1,300 on average during the North American leg of Eras.

Beyoncé and Swift at "Eras" movie premiere
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Taylor Swift are seen together on October 11, 2023, in Los Angeles. The famous friends were snapped on the red carpet at Swift's "Eras" tour movie. John Shearer/Getty Images Entertainment

Are Beyoncé and Taylor Swift Friends?

Their dedicated fandoms may battle, but Swift and Beyoncé have always publicly praised one another.

After Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West—a former friend of the "Flawless" singer and her husband Jay-Z—interrupted Swift while she was collecting her award at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), Beyoncé immediately tried to make things right.

Ye was annoyed that Swift had won the Best Female Video Award over Beyoncé, telling the crowd: "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'mma let you finish. But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!"

Beyoncé later used her own acceptance speech to applaud Swift, telling the audience: "I remember being 17 years old, up for my first MTV Award with Destiny's Child, and it was one of the most exciting moments in my life. So, I'd like for Taylor to come out and have her moment."

After she was named Time Magazine's "Person of the Year" for 2023, Swift addressed the comparisons between the Eras and Renaissance tours in an interview with the publication.

She described the R&B legend as "the most precious gem of a person" and a "great disrupter of music-industry norms."

"She taught every artist how to flip the table and challenge archaic business practices," Swift said last month.

Swift attended the London premiere of Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, which documents the development and release of the world tour. The pair were photographed smiling on the red carpet in December, leaving both Swifties and the Beyhive in awe.

Beyoncé was also present at the Eras Tour Film launch in October, with Swift sharing a clip of the music legends in the theater together.

"I'm so glad I'll never know what my life would've been like without @beyonce's influence," Swift wrote alongside the post. "Her generosity of spirit. Her resilience and versatility. She's been a guiding light throughout my career and the fact that she showed up tonight was like an actual fairytale."

Beyoncé (left) and Taylor Swift, VMAs 2009
Taylor Swift speaks after Beyoncé allowed her to finish her speech, that was cut short by Kanye West, after Beyonce won "Best Video of the Year" onstage during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at... Jeff Kravitz/Filmmagic

Uncommon Knowledge

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Sophie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in Lincoln, UK. Her focus is reporting on film and ... Read more

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