What Did Damon Albarn Say About Taylor Swift? Taylor's Tweet, Celebrity Reactions & More

In what must surely go down as one of the most surprising celebrity feuds in recent pop culture history, Damon Albarn and Taylor Swift are currently not seeing eye to eye and it is all playing out on Twitter. Albarn, best known as the lead singer of Blur and later Gorillaz, recently gave an interview to the LA Times, where he stated Taylor Swift did not write her own music.

His statement was catergorically incorrect and Swift took to Twitter to tell him so, as did her fans and plenty of other famous faces. In the end, Albarn ultimately issued an apology. Newsweek has everything you need to know about the Damon Albarn and Taylor Swift feud.

Damon Albarn's Comment's in Full

In an interview with the LA Times to promote his piano concert at LA's Walt Disney Concert Hall, Damon Albarn told the interviewer, Mikael Wood, "not much modern music" could be simply played on the piano.

He then asked Wood to name a current artist who doesn't rely on "sound and attitude" to make a statement. Wood replied: "She may not be to your taste, but Taylor Swift is an excellent songwriter."

His response? He incorrectly stated Taylor Swift "Doesn't write her own songs."

Swift is an 11-time Grammy winner, known for her exceptional songwriting talents, writing songs for herself and for others including Miley Cyrus, Little Big Town and Calvin Harris.

When Wood responded: "Of course she does. Co-writers some of them," Albarn said: "That doesn't count. I know what co-writing is. Co-writing is very different to writing. I'm not hating on anybody, I'm just saying there's a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes. Doesn't mean that the outcome can't be really great. And some of the greatest singers—I mean, Ella Fitzgerald never wrote a song in her life.

"When I sing, I have to close my eyes and just be in there. I suppose I'm a traditionalist in that sense."

He then went on to say he preferred Billie Eilish who he called a "really interesting songwriter," adding: "I'm more attracted to that than to Taylor Swift. It's just darker—less endlessly upbeat. Way more minor and odd. I think she's exceptional."

Ironically, Eilish co-writes her songs with her older brother Finneas O'Connell, a producer.

Taylor Swift Response

Re-posting the LA Times tweet which first revealed Albarn's comments, Swift wrote: "@DamonAlbarn I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this. I write ALL of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging. You don't have to like my songs but it's really f***** up to try and discredit my writing. WOW."

She followed the tweet up with a sarcastic: "PS I wrote this tweet all by myself in case you were wondering."

Damon Albarn's Apology

Albarn responded to Swift on Twitter, saying his comments had been "reduced to clickbait."

He said: "I totally agree with you. I had a conversation about songwriting and sadly it was reduced to clickbait. I apologize unreservedly and unconditionally. The last thing I would want to do is discredit your songwriting. I hope you understand."

Celebrity Reactions

Jack Antonoff, the frontman of the Bleachers and five-time Grammy winner who worked with Swift on her recent albums Folklore and Evermore was one of the first to take to Twitter to defend Swift.

He wrote: "i've never met damon albarn and he's never been to my studio but apparently he knows more than the rest of us about all those songs taylor writes and brings in. herb."

Aaron Dessner, frontman of the band The National and producer on Swift's Folklore and Evermore albums also weighed in. He wrote: "Not sure why you @Damonalbarn would try to discredit Taylor's brilliant songwriting but as someone who has gotten to press record around her ...your statements couldn't be further from the truth...you're obviously completely clueless as to her actual writing and work process."

Singer Maisie Peters joked: "taylor swift could write song 2 but damon albarn could never write all too well 10-minute version."

Singer-songwriter Richard Marx added: "Hey @Damonalbarn everyone is free to express their opinions, but also open to being called out. @taylorswift13 has written many songs ALONE. Billie co-writes all her songs. They're both very talented. And we already have talentless critics bashing artists, so please STFU."

Grammy-winning Broadway star Kathryn Gallagher also gave her view. Reposting a screenshot of Albarn's comments, she wrote: "Tell me you've never listened to a Taylor swift record without actually telling me you've never listened to a Taylor swift record."

The Empire State Building official Twitter account even had something to say, writing: "No one does it better than you."