FACT CHECK: Did Taylor Swift Copy Popstar Britney Spears’ Iconic Look for Her New Album as Internet Sleuths Spot Uncanny Resemblance?
When Taylor Swift revealed the burlesque-inspired artwork for her 12th studio album The Life of a Showgirl, she appeared in a rhinestone bra, fringed arm bands, and a bedazzled nude thong that looked strikingly familiar. And Swift is being alleged to have copied the entire look.
Swift, 35, may have drawn inspiration from one of her idols, Britney Spears, who wore a nearly identical Bob Mackie–designed outfit during her $53.3M-grossing, 69-date Dream Within a Dream Tour in 2001. Mackie, now 86 — an iconic designer and a favorite of stars like Cher and Carol Burnett —created the Ziegfeld Follies–inspired sparkling costume for the 1981 Las Vegas stage show Jubilee!
Copy Cat
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On April 1, Julien’s Auctions sold the 43-year-old Grammy winner’s bra, panties, and armbands for a staggering $78K. A replica of Britney’s rhinestone-studded, low-rise Levi’s 501 medium-wash jeans — created by Corbin Struck — went for $2,925.
In 2023, Spears recalled online about first meeting Swift backstage during her $40.9M-grossing, 88-date Oops!… I Did It Again Tour around 2000–2001.
“My good friend at the time was the assistant to my manager who was trying to become a manager himself,” the semi-retired pop star—who boasts 41.8M Instagram followers – wrote.
“There was a knock, and then he said, ‘I have a girl named Taylor who wants to come in and sing for you.’ I was like of course! He walks in, and she sings a beautiful song with her guitar.
“I was like, ‘Wow wow she’s unbelievable!’ We took a picture, and she then became the most iconic pop woman of our generation. Kinda cool she plays stadiums, and I prefer her videos over movies any day. She’s stunning! Girl crush!”
The admiration went both ways, with Swift telling GMA in 2004, “I think Britney Spears is awesome just because she has this aura that, you know, being around her in real life, people just change, and she’s just so just awesome that way.
“She has this aura that people just can’t resist. And that’s what I love about Britney Spears because she’s just like nobody else and she’s very different.”
In the Mood for Love
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The 14-time Grammy winner announced Wednesday on her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast that her new album, “The Life of a Showgirl”, will drop on October 3. The 12-track project features two songs — Ruin the Friendship and CANCELLED! — which many believe address the breakdown of her relationship with Blake Lively.
The disgraced 37-year-old actress allegedly tried to blackmail Swift in February, threatening to leak ten years’ worth of private text messages unless Swift publicly supported her during her legal battle with Justin Baldoni.
On May 30, the “How Does It End” singer regained ownership of the masters for her first six studio albums — “Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation.”
According to Billboard, Taylor spent roughly $360M to repurchase her music catalog from Shamrock Capital after “bully” Scooter Braun sold her masters to the private equity firm in 2020 — a year after acquiring them from Big Machine.
Meanwhile, Britney is gearing up to launch her first jewelry line, B. Tiny, and is reportedly heavily involved in her fully authorized biopic for Universal Pictures, directed by Wicked filmmaker Jon M. Chu.
Spears — who recently joked about adopting “a beautiful baby girl” — will soon mark the 19th birthday of her son Jayden Federline on September 12.
In November, the singer made her final $20K child support payment to her second ex-husband, Kevin Federline, whom she was married to for just two years before their 2007 divorce.
