Courtney Love Says Taylor Swift Is "Not Important" and "Not Interesting as an Artist"

Wow, saying that is... a choice.

Taylor Swift and Courtney Love
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Courtney Love isn't making friends right now.

The Hole frontwoman has ruffled feathers in a new interview with the Standard as she expressed her unfiltered, unfavorable opinions on some of the most popular female artists of the moment: Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Lana Del Rey, Madonna.

Of Swift, she said, "Taylor is not important. She might be a safe space for girls, and she’s probably the Madonna of now, but she’s not interesting as an artist."

I personally find this a bizarre thing to say, but others were—as you might imagine—straight-up enraged by Love's comments.

"100 years from now, the name Courtney Love will mean nothing," one person wrote on Twitter. "Not a single person will know who she is. But when Taylor Swift is mentioned, people will remember how she was able to connect with millions of people thru her music, cherished her fans, and fought for artists’ rights."

"I guess the biggest artist in the world. The one with the most streams. The most sales. The biggest tour. The highest chart placements. The most impact. Is somehow… 'not important.' Okay Courtney…" wrote someone else.

Others pointed out that Love is known for her DGAF attitude to speaking her mind, with one person writing, "I'm laughing at people being shocked that Courtney Love is hating on other female artists. Welcome to 1992!!! Homegirl has been a hater since the 90s."

Love herself made this point, as the Standard interview kicks off with her saying, "People used to say that I was so difficult. They said I was disagreeable. Yes, I am completely disagreeable and I’m never going to apologize for that. I always wanted to be known as a bitch." So there's that.

Elsewhere in the article, Love took aim at Lana Del Rey: "I haven’t liked Lana since she covered a John Denver song, and I think she should really take seven years off," she said.

She reiterated her disdain for Madonna: "I don’t like her and she doesn’t like me," she said. "I loved Desperately Seeking Susan, but for the city of New York as much as her."

The two women have had beef for decades, culminating in that one time Love threw her compact at Madonna as the latter was mid-interview, with the "Like a Virgin" singer hitting us with the zinger, "Courtney Love is in dire need of attention right now." Yikessss.

Last but not least, Love expressed her Big Thoughts on Beyoncé.

"I like the idea of Beyoncé doing a country record because it’s about Black women going into spaces where previously only white women have been allowed, not that I like it much," she said. "As a concept, I love it. I just don’t like her music."

I mean, it's kind of refreshing for someone in the spotlight to speak their mind to this extent—I just wish it wasn't gratuitous and at other women's expense. By contrast, Reneé Rapp is an expert at striking the right note on that front.

Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.