Makeups and breakups: The inside word on some of Hollywood’s biggest feuds

When Shakespeare in Love star Gwyneth launched her lifestyle brand Goop, she annoyed the heck out of Martha. “She just needs to be quiet, she’s a movie star,” griped the original lifestyle guru. “If she were confident in her acting, she wouldn’t be trying to be Martha Stewart.” In 2014, Martha, 83, poked fun at the “conscious uncoupling” phrase Gwyneth used to describe her divorce from Coldplay rocker Chris Martin. Gwyn, 51, responded by publishing a “Jailbird Cake” recipe. It was a reference to Martha’s five-month prison stint in 2004 for insider trading.

Talk about a slap-down! The entire world gasped when King Richard star Will, 55, got up, walked across the stage and slapped Oscars host Chris across the face at the 2022 event. Chris, 59, had cracked a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head, not realising she suffered from alopecia, and Will was incensed on his wife’s behalf. Four months later, Will shared a video on social media apologising to Chris for his outburst of violence but his efforts fell on deaf ears, with Chris later referring to it as Will’s “hostage video”.

A lot of water’s gone under the bridge since these two became instant besties in 2002, aged 10, on the set of Barney & Friends. In 2010, a fan asked Demi, 31, how Selena was doing. She replied, “Ask Taylor,” referring to Taylor Swift, with whom Selena had become close. The pair’s friendship reignited after Demi went to rehab in 2013. In 2015, Selena, 32, said Demi was “like family”. But In 2018, they unfollowed each other on social media. Then, in 2020, Demi confirmed they’re “not friends” but she “will always have love” for Selena.

Naomi was the first Black woman to appear on the cover of French Vogue. Tyra was the first Black woman to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Throughout the ’90s, the two supermodels became archrivals. In 2005, the America’s Next Top Model host spilled the beans on their feud, claiming Naomi once told her, “You’ll never be me. Don’t think you can be me.” Naomi, 54, apologised and it seemed the pair had made up. However, in 2019, Tyra, 50, also claimed Naomi was responsible for her once being sent home from a fashion shoot on the Caribbean island of Anguilla and that she’d been forced to change modelling agencies. The following year, mum of two Naomi shared an article. The headline read, “Here’s why fans are starting to think Tyra Banks is the real mean girl.”

Throughout the six blockbuster seasons of Sex and the City, rumours swirled that two of the show’s stars, Sarah and Kim, didn’t get on. The pair constantly denied it, with Sarah saying the scuttlebutt “confounded” her and Kim saying she thought Sarah was “fantastic”. Kim suddenly changed tack in 2017, however, telling an interviewer, “I really think she could’ve been nicer. I don’t know what her issue is.”

In 2018, Kim’s brother died suddenly. Sarah, 59, expressed her condolences and Kim, 67, replied on social media, “Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now. Let me make this VERY clear (if I haven’t already). You are not my family. You are not my friend. So I’m writing to tell you one last time to stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your ‘nice girl’ persona.”

There’s been no kissing and making up since, although Kim did make a cameo appearance last year in the sequel series And Just Like That… The Canadian actor, however, shot no scenes with her former co-stars. Instead, she was filmed sitting in the back seat of a car in London talking on the phone.

As one of Jennifer Aniston’s best friends, comedian Chelsea didn’t hold back after Brad Pitt left Jen, 55, for Angelina in 2005. “She seems like a demon,” Chelsea said in 2013 of the Maleficent actor, 49. “I don’t like Angelina Jolie. I don’t think she’s a girl’s girl and I like girl’s girls.”

In 2016, she let rip again when Angelina filed for divorce from Brad. “There are rumours that part of the problem was that Brad was allegedly drinking and smoking too much weed,” joked Chelsea. “I wonder why he would need to self-medicate… Oh, yeah, because he married a lunatic, that’s why!”

In 2019, Chelsea, 49, changed her tune. She said, “I realise she’s probably just trying to do her best, but obviously I’m not gonna hang out with her.”

After making his name as The Fonz on Happy Days, Henry, 78, tried his hand at directing, but his time behind the cameras of the 1989 film Turner & Hooch – about a cop (Turner, played by Tom, 68) and his dog (Hooch) – had its challenges. “Let’s just say I got along better with Hooch than I did with Turner,” says Henry. He was eventually sacked from the project. He recalls going on a location hunt to California seaside town Carmel and “a woman comes running out of a shop and says, ‘Henry, Fonz! Oh, my God!’ and I say, ‘And of course you know Tom Hanks.’ The director of photography, when I was fired 13 days into filming, said, ‘I knew this was going to happen on that day in Carmel.’”

William and Leonard ruled the galaxies between 1966 and 1969 in the original Star Trek TV series. The pair were reputed to have a warm friendship that spanned almost five decades, but Leonard, who died in 2015, aged 83, cut off all communication with his old co-star in the last five years of his life. William, 93, says he has no idea why things soured, saying, “It is sad. I don’t know why he stopped talking to me.” Leonard’s son Adam Nimoy, 67, says he knows the reason but won’t elaborate, apart from saying his dad’s relationship with William was “very challenging”.

Lady Marmalade, the single featuring Mya, Lil’ Kim, Christina and Pink, became an overnight sensation when it was released in 2001. But it was the beginning of a long-running feud between divas Christina, 43, and Pink, 44. The pair saw each other as rivals and Pink pointedly said later, “Kim and Mya were nice.” The two divas continued to clash in the weeks and months after Lady Marmalade topped the charts, with Pink recalling they once got into a physical altercation at a club. They finally buried the hatchet after working together in 2016 on The Voice. “She’s a really sweet person,” says Pink. “We became mums. We grew up, and we hugged it out. It’s that simple.”

Roar singer Katy and Shake it Off hitmaker Taylor went from friends to enemies after two dancers left Taylor’s Red tour to join Katy’s Prismatic world tour in 2014. Soon after, Taylor, 34, released Bad Blood, saying it was about another artist who “tried to sabotage me”. Katy, 39, responded by releasing the song Swish Swish. The hit included the lyrics, “Don’t you come for me” and “Your game is tired, you should retire.” In 2018, however, she had a change of heart and sent Taylor a literal olive branch. Taylor accepted her apology and sent Katy some cookies with the words “peace at last” written in icing on the plate. The twosome remain on good terms.

These two megastars fell out in 2002 when Elton branded Madonna’s theme track to Die Another Day “the worst Bond tune ever”. Two years later, the Rocket Man took another swipe after Madge was nominated for Best Live Act at the Q Awards in London. “Since when has lip-syncing been live?” he said. “That’s me off her Christmas card list, but do I give a toss? No.” Madonna’s publicist replied, “Madonna does not lip-sync, nor does she spend her time trashing other artists.”

Unsurprisingly, Madonna declined Elton’s request to perform at his bachelor party in 2014. Her publicist announced, “Madonna wishes Elton all the best and hopes married life will make him a happier person.” The two ended their feud when they bumped into each other at a restaurant in France. Elton, 77, bought billionaire Madge, 66, dinner. “I apologised profusely because what I said should have never appeared in public. She was fantastic. She was like, ‘Okay, let’s get a move on.’”

It was a post-ball brawl! After a glorious appearance on the Met Gala’s red carpet in 2014, Beyoncé, her rapper husband Jay-Z and her sister Solange continued their night of fun at an after-party in New York’s swanky Standard Hotel. As the threesome left the do, however, all hell broke loose. Video footage showed Solange, 38, throwing punches and kicking Jay-Z, 54, in the elevator while Beyoncé, 42, silently stood by. The trio never explained the incident, but three years later, Jay-Z said, “We had one disagreement ever. Before and after we’ve been cool. She’s like my sister. I will protect her. That’s my sister, not my sister-in-law. My sister. Period.”