This is the script for the ‘infinite scroll podcast’ episode: “Stan-ing the Flames: The Evolution of Celebrity Feuds & The Impact of Fan Involvement.”
From Tana Mongeau vs Rosanna Pansino to Mikaela Testa vs Anna Paul, feuds have always been a driving force in internet culture. No matter how much we claim to hate the drama, many of us can’t stop watching, commenting, and ultimately coming back for more. These rivalries aren’t just entertainment— they end up shaping narratives, fuelling fan engagement, and even come to define digital fame itself.
Of course, this isn’t just an online phenomenon— traditional media and mainstream pop culture have been fuelling celebrity feuds for decades. From clickbait headlines to entertainment news shows, rivalries have long captivated audiences, turning personal conflicts into public interest.
At the heart of it all is tabloid culture. As MT Bastos writes for The International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies, “[Tabloid content] tends to expose sexual misconduct and explore conservative and iconoclast topical interests, with strong commercial emphasis and populist vernacular.”
Outlets like TMZ, Just Jared, and Perez Hilton, all of which launched in 2005, relentlessly covered celebrities’ personal lives— from relationships to rumours and, of course, feuds.
Though these mediums weren’t always accurate, they have managed to keep audiences hooked on celebrity drama, offering one of the fastest ways to follow the lives of Hollywood’s elite— even if the stories were exaggerated, misrepresented, or entirely fabricated.
As Bastas continues: “tabloid newspapers [compared to Broadsheets] present on average less detailed articles often directed by marketing departments and heavily influenced by demographic appeal and audience share.”
In a 2019 article for The Conversation, University of Sydney academic Rodney Tiffen examined how tabloid journalism has evolved, explaining some of its modern-day practices. Although Tiffen’s article focuses primarily on the Australian media landscape, his analysis can be applied to other regions around the world– given that the dynamics of celebrity feuds and scandal are pretty much universal at this point.
He makes the point that tabloids over the years have become increasingly angry and rage-filled. “Polarisation runs through the way tabloids frame the news – between triumph and disaster; heroes and villains; common sense and absurdity,” Tiffen explains. “These papers offer their readers certainty and simplicity rather than ambiguity and complexity; they give them the opportunity to vent their anger at the modern world.”
Since Tiffen’s article, the intensity of these narratives has only grown, especially in the context of heightened societal and political polarisation. Controversies, feuds and scandals have become even more amplified, feeding the demand for quick, emotionally charged stories that cater to an increasingly divided public.
Having said that, feuds aren’t just a byproduct of celebrity culture, they are a carefully crafted narrative that drive engagement. And more often than not, these narratives hinge on pitting people— especially women— against each other, framing them as enemies in a way that only serves to reinforce outdated misogynistic tropes about competition and jealousy. The way the pop culture enthusiasts have approached the alleged feud between Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber is a case in point— but more on that later.
How social media has changed the players in the game
While tabloid culture, with its focus on anger and polarised views, laid the groundwork for our obsession with celebrity feuds, it was social media that truly solidified it. Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok have given fans direct access to celebrities, making drama even more immediate and accessible. With this in mind, these platforms don’t just exist as a place to report on feuds— they actively fuel and extend them.
Now, there are a couple of key reasons for this, and we can break them down into two overarching arguments. First, there are simply more avenues for stories to be shared today. The variety of personal channels — ranging from TikTok to YouTube to X — means that celebrity feuds don’t have to be confined to one medium, they can reach audiences across the space ultimately amplifying their impact.
The second hypothesis relates to the democratisation of virality and information. In the past, only mainstream media outlets had the power to shape narratives, but now, thanks to social media, anyone online can jump in on the discourse. Fans, influencers, and even celebrities can directly engage in and fuel these discussions, making the feuds feel more participatory than ever before. On top of this, these platforms allow people to react, comment, and contribute as it is all unfolding. So let’s expand on this….
The first, and arguably most consequential impact of social media, is that it allows creators and celebrities to speak directly to their followers— often bypassing the layers of mediation that once existed. In the past, when a celebrity appeared on late-night shows or in traditional media interviews, their stories were filtered through producers, PR teams, journalists, and sometimes even networks. These layers often shaped how stories were told and who controlled the narrative.
Of course, this isn’t a new argument or fresh analysis by any means, but it’s one we can’t ignore. Over the years, we’ve seen celebrities bring feuds to social media, whether by sharing their side of the story directly with fans or subtly shading another celebrity through cryptic tweets, shady Instagram stories, or in comment sections.
One niche (but telling) example was the feud between Drake Bell and Justin Bieber around 2014. It all started when Drake took a jab at Justin on Twitter, criticising him in a way that Beliebers did not take lightly. What might have otherwise been a once-off insult turned into a full on online battle, with Beliebers responding in full force— some even sending death threats to the Nickelodeon star.
This feud, while largely one-sided, is a prime example of how social media changed the dynamics of celebrity drama.
Platforms like Twitter didn’t just allow celebrities to beef publicly— they allowed celebrities to speak their mind and turn a dispute into a public spectacle. What might have once been a behind-the-scenes grudge or a tabloid-fuelled rivalry now played out in front of millions, with fans actively participating. And Drake versus Justin was just one example of many that have played out over the years.
Aside from celebrities and creators being able to address feuds themselves, social media has allowed public figures to navigate conflicts in new— and increasingly engaging— ways. One major shift is how grievances are aired in a way that prioritises entertainment over fact. Feuds are no longer just disputes, they are content.
A prime example of this is the rise of diss tracks online. Of course, diss tracks are not unique to social media by any means. Their origins lie in rap battles, a foundational element of hip-hop culture. In a piece for The Conversation, academic Adam de Paor-Evans discusses this history, explaining how rap battles laid the groundwork for what we now recognise as diss tracks.
“Until the first hip hop records in 1979, the music and raps which helped shape hip hop culture were performed at live events and shared as taped recordings,” he writes. “During that time, lyrics that centred on territory, skills and identity formed much of hip hop’s content, which provided plenty of ammunition for dissing. As a result, the diss became synonymous with battling [where] the relationship between diss records and rap battles was crucial to the expansion of diss records during the 1980s.”
Diss tracks have since taken on a life of their own, evolving from niche rap battles to mainstream cultural moments. 2024 was a particularly massive year for the genre, with Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us— a track widely recognised as a diss to Drake— dominating the charts, sweeping the Grammys, and even being performed at the Super Bowl halftime show.
But in the online space, diss tracks have been co-opted by various influencers— often stripped of their original cultural context, as is the case with much of internet culture. In the digital world, these tracks become less about lyrical skill and more about pure drama. Diss tracks arguably peaked around 2017— though they still drive engagement today. We don’t need to get into everything happening between Bhad Bhabie and Alabama Barker right now, but with so many people locked in, it’s clear that diss tracks still have influence online.
Nonetheless, in the mid-2010s the digital space saw influencers like Jake Paul, RiceGum, and KSI turn personal conflicts into viral music videos — with disses built into each one.
One of the most infamous examples is, of course, ‘It’s Everyday Bro’ by Jake Paul and the Team 10 members. Released on May 31st, 2017, the song was essentially a diss track aimed at his ex-girlfriend, Alissa Violet. It dropped shortly after their breakup, during which Alissa was kicked out of the creator collective and the house they shared. Rumours circulated that Jake had cheated on Alissa with Tessa Brooks— who, notably, also appeared in the music video. Despite the controversy, or perhaps because of it, the video remains Jake Paul’s most-watched upload, currently sitting at 303 million views.
“Much of “It’s Everyday Bro” is a veiled takedown of Violet: Paul references kicking her out of the Team 10 house and their social media feud,” writes Billboard at the time. “The track became Paul’s first appearance on the Hot 100, peaking at No. 94, and the Team 10 crew celebrated by upsetting their L.A. neighbors with more over-the-top stunts, which allegedly included setting furniture on fire in an empty swimming pool.”
Alissa would then go on to respond by releasing “It’s Every Night Sis” with RiceGum. The track was successful in its own right, also marking Alissa and RiceGum’s first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. As Billboard continues: “‘Sis’ is even more relentless than ‘Bro:’ in the viral video, Violet and RiceGum bounce around in front of a luxury Los Angeles mansion and yellow Lamborghini, with the duo claiming that Paul pays for sex and bullied kids in school.”
Beyond It’s Everyday Bro, there have been countless diss tracks and roasts borne out of creator feuds— so much so that it even became a trend for creators to “roast themselves” in the Roast Yourself Challenge, which actually predated the song by a year.
Where diss tracks thrived because they capitalised on existing feuds, drama channels took it to an entirely new level. For those of you who aren’t as familiar with this corner of YouTube, let’s break it down.
Drama channels function as entertainment news shows but with a hyper-specific focus on creator controversies. In an academic journal article by Rebecca Lewis and Angèle Christin titled “Platform drama: “Cancel culture,” celebrity, and the struggle for accountability on YouTube,” the academics outline the three functions of the drama channel.
At the core of these channels, drama creators “reveal and report on scandals involving YouTube celebrities” much like tabloids. Next, drama channels offer breaking coverage of conflicts and feuds between YouTubers, mirroring “semi-staged spectacles of reality television and daytime talk shows as well as the ‘beefs’ that emerge between rappers.” Finally, these channels “provide general news and commentary about the world of user-generated content on YouTube,” seeking to offer opinions and make moral judgements about creator behaviour.
While they first gained traction on YouTube in the late 2010s— particularly within the beauty community— they have since expanded across every major content genre. These channels provide timely (and often surprisingly accurate) updates on influencer drama, further stoking the flames of online feuds. While personal updates from creators help fans keep track of ongoing conflicts, having a seemingly objective source break it all down only encourages more users and creators to engage in the discourse.
The pioneers of this community each carved out a distinct yet significant niche in the space. Philip DeFranco, for example, isn’t necessarily seen as a classic drama channel, but he’s widely considered the original internet news influencer— helping pave the way for this kind of content. He launched The Philip DeFranco Show in the late-2000s and continues to post, covering everything from political updates to influencer controversies.
Another key figure was Here For The Tea, who started around 2015 as the first major beauty YouTube drama channel. Samantha Rabinowitz, the creator behind the account, is regarded as a leader in the drama space and was instrumental in exposing shady influencer marketing and sales tactics— such as undisclosed affiliate links and sponsorships— long before they became widely scrutinised. Her last video was posted in May 2019, and in 2021, it was reported that she had passed away, marking the end of an era for one of the most influential voices in the beauty drama community.
As Lewis and Christin note, drama channels have been instrumental in feuds like BYE SISTER, with a central goal of holding creators accountable. Having said that, it quickly became clear that influencers could benefit from building relationships with these channels— leading to the development of a unique media ecosystem. Drama channels became so influential that, at one point, it was widely believed that Jeffree Star manipulated one channel, TeaSpill, into scrapping a potential series about Jaclyn Hill and her scandals.
Though it seems that the peak of the YouTube drama channel may be behind us, many have adapted to short-form formats on TikTok and Instagram, allowing them to stay relevant in an era of short-form content. For instance, we have seen the rise of drama accounts native to these short-form video platforms— think TikTokRoom or TeaTokTalk.
Ultimately, the rise of drama channels— and the way they’ve essentially replaced tabloids for Gen Z— demonstrates just how democratised gossip and reporting on celebrity feuds have become. With far more players in the game, there are now more avenues for creators and celebrities to tell their side of the story, but also more people willing to leak information or embrace their inner armchair detective and uncover it themselves.
When it comes to creators specifically, drama channels have long been able to hold influencers accountable— whether in a feud or more broadly— far more effectively than tabloids or mainstream media. This is largely because drama channels are deeply embedded in the digital space, understanding its nuances in a way traditional outlets often fail to.
The aforementioned academic journal explores how accountability operates within the digital world, especially for drama channels. After interviewing various drama creators, the researchers found that “performances of authenticity and ‘scams,’ as well as acts of accountability and spectacle, become intertwined.” In other words, entertainment, truth, and moral indignation are one and the same.
Therefore, when it comes to covering feuds between creators and celebrities, drama channels have positioned themselves as “truth-tellers” that social media users turn to for the latest updates. At the same time, creators have learned to leverage these channels to try to shape narratives, get the audience on side, and even control the discourse surrounding their opposition.
Non-traditional players in celebrity feuds
With drama channels racking up millions of followers over the years, it’s clear that creator drama and feuds are major engagement drivers. This has led non-traditional players to weigh in on celebrity and influencer conflicts, further intensifying the drama for those involved. In turn, it has given social media users a sense of validation that they, too, have the right to sow division between the feuding creators or celebrities.
One of the most notable non-traditional players in this space is, of course, brands. Historically, it was rare for a brand to acknowledge or play into a feud. At most, they might have subtly taken sides by featuring one of the individuals in a campaign. But directly using a feud as a means of engagement was almost unheard of. Now, because brands often try to develop their own “personality” for digital marketing, it is becoming increasingly common to do so.
The exemplary case here is Duolingo. At this point, we are all familiar with Duolingo’s social strategy. The personification of Duo the Owl and the snarky persona in comment sections has made for a historic social media strategy that manages to promote the brand while engaging Gen Z (a seemingly impossible task).
But being so on the pulse has led to a number of missteps by the brand — especially when it comes to celebrity and creator feuds. Duolingo attempted to capitalise on the Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez feud when it re-emerged in the cultural zeitgeist in 2022. At the time, the company posted a TikTok to the audio “I’m not saying she deserves it, but God’s timing is always right,” showing Duo pointing to an evidence board that included pictures and screenshots of Selena and Hailey over the years.
Perhaps even more egregious was when Duolingo’s social media accounts sided with the anti-Amber Heard mob during her trial against Johnny Depp— also in 2022. The company came under fire after the brand’s account left a “joke” about Amber under a TikTok posted by NBC News.
In the video, Amber was on the stand and implied that she was being bullied on social media, saying “You can look either of us up online and figure out who’s being abused.” Duolingo then commented on the video, “Y’all think amber watches tiktok?”
Many internet users criticised the company for the comment, questioning why a language-learning app was capitalising upon a legal case for relevancy and traction online. Zaria Parvez, the employee who left the comment, later apologised on her personal Twitter.
All that to say, social media has completely reshaped the landscape of celebrity and creator feuds. But allowing brands, drama channels, and other external players to capitalise on these conflicts for content and engagement ultimately cheapens the experience for those actually involved. For creators, it adds an extra layer of pressure— forcing them to either speak out or lean into the feud for engagement, whether they want to or not.
Various creators have spoken out about the personal toll feuding online takes on them, as well as what might motivate them to bring such drama into the public eye
One such example is Alissa Violet. While we’ve previously discussed her feud with Jake Paul in relation to ‘It’s Every Day Bro,’ Alissa has been involved in several other feuds over the years. Recently, though, she opened up about her beef with Tana Mongeau, specifically a feud that took place last year.
The feud began when Alissa defended Jason Nash after Tana mocked him for panhandling on TikTok Live. Tana, who is friends with Jason’s ex, Trisha Paytas, had posted multiple videos poking fun at him, often saying that no matter how bad things get in life, at least we’re not Jason Nash. Tana’s history with Jason was already problematic. He frequently made inappropriate sexual jokes about her during the Vlog Squad era — despite having a significant age gap and dating Trisha at the time.
Alissa’s comments led to Tana and Brooke Schofield dragging her on the Cancelled Podcast, calling her the “meanest girl in LA” and levelling other claims against her. In response, Alissa posted a video addressing their accusations. In it, she gave context to her behaviour and how the public feud impacted her. She started by acknowledging the intense backlash she had received: “I’ve received thousands of comments, DMs, TikToks, tags, etc., pretty much telling me how awful of a human being I am. And believe me, I’m seeing it all and I have been.”
She took full responsibility for the way things had unfolded, admitting, “It’s completely my own doing, 100% my fault.” However, she also explained why she decided to criticise Tana in the first place, sharing that she had been watching Tana post videos criticising creators for weeks and felt that the Cancelled Podcast was simply a platform for “negative gossip.”
After alleging that Tana and Brooke also made up lies about her, Alissa concluded by reflecting on the situation and how it impacted her personally: “I understand everybody wants the tea on what’s going on in celebrity culture, specifically in Los Angeles. But when you have to make up a story, fabricate an encounter, spread misinformation, and slander someone while presenting falsehoods as fact, it can be so damaging and hurtful to someone’s mental health—not to mention their personal brand that they’ve worked so hard to build. So just be real.”
Through this case, it is clear that creators often feel pressured to defend themselves in public feuds, especially when social media users start weighing in. With drama channels and followers constantly scrutinising their every move, creators feel obligated to clarify their side and protect their reputation. This can obviously be emotionally draining as they’re forced to deal with negative commentary and even fabricated stories.
The mental toll is significant. Alissa mentioned receiving thousands of hate comments, and having to constantly respond to these attacks can cause stress and anxiety. For many creators, the emotional strain from these feuds is often underestimated, and it’s no wonder some creators choose to step away for their well-being.
On the flip side, instead of shutting down speculation, creators sometimes capitalise on feuds— or even manufacture them entirely— for attention and engagement
One of the most prolific examples of this is KSI vs The Sidemen. This veers into a corner of YouTube we don’t usually talk about, but The Sidemen are a British YouTuber collective known for their gaming content, challenge videos and sketches among other high production content.
In August 2017— which was the height of YouTube’s diss track era, as we have already discussed— KSI announced on Twitter and YouTube that he was leaving the group and moving to LA. In the YouTube video, he blamed Ethan Payne, aka Behzinga, for his departure. As one fan put in the r/Sidemen Subreddit: “JJ [KSI] went to LA, made a half-serious, half-joking video about leaving the sidemen. Made a joke about it being Ethan’s fault. Some fans took it seriously and sent hate to Ethan.”
Behzinga capitalised on the moment, dropping a diss track called “Drama” in response. Given that the diss track was the initial move, fans weren’t sure how serious the feud was at first. Over the next few weeks, the Sidemen members dropped nine diss tracks in total, with KSI’s brother Deji even getting involved. But things really escalated when Harry Lewis, aka W2S, released a particularly brutal (and now-deleted) diss track titled “KSI Exposed.” From this, what seemingly started as a stunt spiralled into something bigger. But despite the tensions, the controversy brought huge attention to The Sidemen, and they later credited it with revitalising their brand after a bit of a lull.
In fact, in a 2022 episode of the Impaulsive podcast, Tobi Brown (TBJZL) and Behzinga claimed that KSI started the drama simply because he was bored.
“I think he was doing it to just—I don’t know—probably be excited. He was bored because I think we hit, like, a big plateau with what we were doing. It was the same sort of shit, in and out. So he spiced it up, and it worked…”
So, while fans speculated at the time (and in the years since) that the feud was staged, members of The Sidemen have essentially confirmed it was initially meant to be fake— until real tensions emerged. Having said that, this case is a prime example of how fabricating feuds for views can backfire, turning into something much harder to control.
The consequences of celebrity feuds online
We’ve explored how the digital world has reshaped celebrity feuds and how it affects public figures directly. But what we haven’t really discussed yet is how they impact social media users— the people watching, engaging with, and even fuelling these conflicts.
There are a couple of key points to make here, and the first comes down to the increasing access we have to creators and celebrities because of social media. The impact of parasocial relationships and the rise of “relatable” influencers has been discussed at nauseam, but it remains an important piece of context.
This era of content has given us unprecedented access to our favourite celebrities and creators— whether it’s their daily routine, their friendships, or their personal conflicts. This kind of content really took off in the late 2010s and early 2020s, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic when pop culture enthusiasts had to adapt to a world, where honestly, not much was happening. And with that, what constituted celebrity news became surprisingly un-newsworthy. Instead of exploiting celebrity scandals, gossip became about the mundane. This is what helped the rise of gossip accounts like Deuxmoi, which skyrocketed to viral fame after reporting on celebrity sightings.
Anyway, our obsession with the mundane, compounded with the relatability factor of influencers, has made social media users deeply invested in every little thing a creator does. As a result, we know so much more about influencers’ personal lives, leading to public feuds over things that wouldn’t even register as an issue in mainstream pop culture. BYE SISTER is a case in point— it’s safe to say that a public feud instigated over a hair vitamin gummy sponsorship would never have happened among mainstream celebrities.
The same could be said for the infamous feud between Tana Mongeau and Freelee the Banana Girl— whose real name is Leanne Ratcliffe. To be clear, Freelee has long been criticised for promoting disordered eating habits. But to make a long story short, Freelee went after Tana over her response to a question about staying slim, taking issue with her mention of “bored eating” and her advice for distracting herself from mindless hunger. To put it into context, Tana was 17 years old at the time, arguing with a woman well into her thirties— after Freelee had publicly targeted her.
The two soon started going back and forth, ultimately being another example of an internet-specific feud that would be unlikely to happen outside of influencerdom.
Like we said, part of the reason we allow these feuds to happen is because of our deep parasocial relationships with creators and our extensive knowledge of their lives. But there’s another layer at play here: a cognitive dissonance. Being super online often creates a disconnect, where social media users express frustration with the ongoing drama— as was the case in the beauty community, where the Dramageddons left many followers at their wit’s end. Yet, despite this frustration, many continue to lean into these often petty feuds.
A big part of this is our addiction to consuming social media content. But another factor is that being chronically online has made many of us more combative and accustomed to conflict. Just look at Stan Twitter, where the comment sections under accounts like Pop Crave and Pop Base are full of users fighting for their favourite celebrities. Whether it’s the anonymity the digital space provides or just the rise of a more combative culture online, heated interactions have become the norm.
Perhaps the biggest reason we lean so heavily into petty drama is the desire to feel righteous while consuming content. Social media users often crave that sense of moral superiority, and they can get it through hate-watching or engaging with ragebait. This is especially true when it comes to creator feuds. Even when users call these feuds “stupid” or “petty,” they continue to participate— commenting on and following the drama they claim to hate. It creates a cycle where they feed into the very thing they criticise, intensifying the drama and perpetuating creator beef.
That said, following creator and celebrity feuds isn’t inherently bad. Gossip and discussions about a public figure’s behaviour provides an opportunity to reflect and serve as a digestible way to engage with larger societal issues.
Think of how many creator feuds have sparked think pieces exploring different systemic factors at play— whether it’s misogyny, racism, or other forms of discrimination.
Ultimately, these feuds open the door to discussions on complex topics like power dynamics, morality, and the intersection of fame and personal identity. However, the issue arises when the line between banter and harmful behaviour gets blurred, like when death threats are sent, or fans take the feuds so seriously that they attack one another. By this point, we know that creators shouldn’t be targeted to the point of exhaustion over personal or private matters— when that happens, it crosses into dangerous territory.
Listen to the full episode via the ‘infinite scroll podcast’ on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.