Stevie Nicks recently sat down for a wide-ranging chat with Rolling Stone, during which she recalled an interesting conversation she had with Katy Perry about a decade ago.
Known for her incredible career as part of the band Fleetwood Mac and her solo success, Stevie, now 76, was one of the most prominent female artists of the late 1900s.
Meanwhile, Katy shot to fame in the late 2000s and has released numerous hit songs over the years.
Stevie recalled Katy asking her if she had any “rivals” as the pair talked about their fellow female artists taking the industry by storm.
“About 10 years ago, Katy Perry was talking to me about the internet armies of all the girl singers, and how cruel and rancid they were,” Stevie recounted. “I said, ‘Well, I wouldn’t know because I’m not on the internet.’”
Stevie then recalled telling Katy to “get off the internet” in order to stop seeing other female artists as competition.
“She said, ‘So, who are your rivals?’ I just looked at her. It was my steely look. I said, 'Katy, I don’t have rivals. I have friends. All the other women singers that I know are friends. Nobody’s competing. Get off the internet and you won’t have rivals either,'” Stevie said.
While Stevie didn’t recall Katy name-checking any particular female artists, it’s important to note that around the time that they would’ve had this conversation, artists like Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift were in the limelight alongside Katy.
In fact, Katy and Taylor found themselves embroiled in a messy feud around a decade ago after three of Taylor's Red tour dancers memorably decided to work with Katy instead. The whole thing was messy, to say the least, and even resulted in a pair of diss tracks — Taylor’s “Bad Blood” was dropped in 2014, and Katy responded with “Swish Swish” three years later. You can read a more detailed recap of Taylor and Katy’s feud here.
With all of this in mind, Stevie’s recollection of Katy’s comments on female rivalry is garnering attention online, with several fans praising Stevie for advising Katy to stop “competing” with fellow artists.
