Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift used to be close friends, but announced their ‘break’ for just this reason

They were renowned figures in the showbiz world, their friendship thriving before it soured and their bond fractured.

According to People, a leaked track titled “Cannonball” by Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber circulated on social media. It was recorded in August 2011 but never officially released.

The song was slated to feature on the “Believe” album (2012), but Justin eventually decided to scrap it at the last minute. To this day, it remains the only collaborative piece between the two music icons.

The “country princess” and the “pop prince” shared a deep bond of friendship. They had known each other since their teenage years and became admired best friends in the entertainment industry.

In 2009, at the age of 19, Taylor Swift embarked on her first tour and invited Justin Bieber to perform at a concert at Wembley, UK. At that time, Justin, at just 15 years old, was taking the world by storm with his hit song “Baby.”

Two years later, Justin Bieber continued to be a guest performer on the American country princess’s second tour.

Their friendship grew stronger when Justin Bieber started dating Selena Gomez. The trio attended numerous events together, always supporting each other in their careers.

However, cracks began to appear in Justin and Taylor’s relationship when Justin’s romantic involvement with Selena Gomez hit rough patches. Selena broke up with Justin Bieber in early 2013 after a heated argument.

Witnessing her close friend’s distress over Justin, Taylor Swift severed ties with the male singer, even hinting at his dishonesty and misconduct towards his girlfriend. The media reported Taylor Swift advising Selena to end her relationship with Justin.

At the 2013 Billboard Awards, when Selena Gomez spotted Justin Bieber and approached him for a greeting and a kiss on the cheek, Taylor Swift appeared visibly uncomfortable. She walked past them, displaying her displeasure towards Justin.

Over time, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez had multiple reconciliations and breakups. Justin felt that Taylor influenced their relationship, causing discord between him and his girlfriend.

In his song “All Bad,” released in 2013, Justin wrote about someone interfering and damaging his romantic relationships. The lyrics included: “Don’t let ’em change your mood. They try to control ya. They say they care but don’t really know ya.” Audiences speculated that Justin Bieber was shadowing Taylor Swift.

In 2016, amidst the Kanye West controversy involving Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber publicly sided with Kanye. The singer posted a picture of himself on a video call with Kanye and manager Scooter Braun with a provocatively captioned: “Taylor, what’s good?”

The image received over a million likes, but Justin Bieber faced harsh criticism for mocking and disrespecting Taylor Swift. Their relationship officially turned from friendship to animosity.

In 2019, the singer stirred controversy by posting an apology for mocking Taylor Swift. However, he continued to defend Scooter Braun, who had a strained relationship with Taylor and had invested in acquiring the rights to many of her music works.

To this day, Taylor Swift remains close to Selena Gomez but has cut ties with Justin Bieber after several online confrontations. The relationship between the two female singers and Justin Bieber’s marriage also seems strained.