Machine Gun Kelly and Corey Taylor
Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via GI; Scott Dudelson/GIMake no mistake: Machine Gun Kelly and Corey Taylor do not like each other.
For more than a year now, there’s been no love lost between the pop-punk singer and the Slipknot frontman, with barbs, accusations and subtle digs being thrown in the press, on social media and during live shows.
The various stages of the feud have involved comfortable footwear, Slipknot’s famous masks and even talk of a Britney Spears cover (sarcastically, of course). With so many insults and insinuations flying back and forth, it can be hard to keep up on the latest developments of the rockers’ well-publicized feud.
So Billboard has rounded up a detailed timeline of where, when and how things turned sour between Kelly and Taylor as they went from would-be collaborators to sworn enemies. Check out the complete timeline below.
December 2020 – MGK slams the state of rock on Rock This With Allison Hagendorf interview
During a December 2020 interview on Rock This With Allison Hagendorf, Kelly went in on what he viewed as lazy flaws in many of his fellow rock artists, giving an impassioned diatribe that criticized everything from their general attitudes to their choice in footwear.
“I’ve gotta see some ‘f— you.’ I have to,” he said on the Spotify original podcast. “I want some attitude, dude. Like this is what I f—ing hate, this is what I will tell you. I did Warped Tour and these motherf—ers would wear comfortable shoes onstage every day. F— your f—ing Nike, New Balance comfy shoes because it makes you feel comfortable. Put on some Doc Martens, you f—ing f—! Put on some f—ing Chucks; put on some Vans. Like, it’s not about you! It’s about the show. You don’t look cool, man! I f—ing hate your feet, I hate your shoes. … You’re comfortable. Rock and roll’s not comfortable — it’s uncomfortable. It’s a metaphor. Your shoes are a metaphor. F— you.”
December 2020 – MGK doubles down on Twitter
Kelly’s comments immediately caused a stir on social media, but he didn’t back down from his opinion. Instead, he issued a sarcastic apology on Twitter, writing, “To the bands mad i said they wear ‘comfy shoes’ – i’m very sorry that i can get you this upset just by talking about your little pointy new balances. i wear pink so like…what do i know anyway?”
February 2021 – Without naming names, Corey Taylor seemingly slams MGK in an interview
Taylor added to the conversation a couple of months later, slyly questioning in response to the Rock This interview whether Kelly had the right to an opinion regarding the state of rock whatsoever, given he’d only recently joined the fray.
“I hate all new rock for the most part. I [hate] the artists who failed in one genre and decided to go rock and I think he knows who he is,” he said, seeming to call out Kelly’s pivot from rap to pop-punk (with 2020’s Tickets to My Downfall) in a lengthy rant during an appearance on Cutter’s Rockcast.
September 2021 – MGK lashes out during Riot Fest set
That fall, Kelly headlined Day 3 of Chicago’s Riot Fest, playing at the same time as Slipknot rocked a second stage. In between performing songs like “Kiss Kiss” and “All I Know” and covering the likes of Paramore (“Misery Business”) and Iann Dior (“Sick and Tired”), the pop-punk singer took a shot at Slipknot’s signature wardrobe choices.
“You wanna know what I’m really happy that I’m not doing?” he quipped during his set. “Being 50 years old wearing a f—ing weird mask on a f—ing stage, talking sh–. So anyway, what’s everyone’s favorite candy? Reese’s Pieces?”
September 2021 – Kelly calls Taylor “bitter” over scrapped verse on Tickets to My Downfall
Moving the feud to Twitter, the Blonde Don decided to spill some tea, revealing that the root of the pair’s animosity might be about more than just a couple of petty sound bites in interviews.
“Corey did a verse for a song on Tickets to my Downfall album,” he tweeted. “It was f—ing terrible so I didn’t use it. he got mad about it, and talked sh– to a magazine about the same album he was almost on…just admit he’s bitter.”
September 2021 – Taylor responds by posting email receipts on Twitter
The Slipknot frontman didn’t exactly take kindly to Kelly calling him out, and that very same day decided to fire back with receipts of his own. Posting screenshots of emails between himself, Travis Barker and Kelly, Taylor added context to the failed collab, showing that Kelly initially said he was “stoked” and “honored” that the older rocker agreed to jump on the track. But when the creative process hit a few bumps over Kelly’s notes on Taylor’s verse, the latter bowed out of the collaboration.
“So I listened to the ideas and to be honest, I don’t think I’m the right guy for the track,” he wrote to Barker in January 2020. “Nothing personal, I just think if this is what MGK is looking for, someone else is the guy to do it. It’s ALL good, and I’m stoked for him- I hope you guys find the right fit for it.”
September 2021 – MGK brings Britney Spears into the feud
Rather than subtweet, Kelly responded directly to Taylor’s screenshots, snarking, “Basically, your verse was really bad. respectfully, i was just telling you to rewrite it because it was really bad. respectfully. but let’s do a Britney Spears cover song together.” Hmm…”Toxic,” perhaps?
January 2022 – Corey Taylor hits back during ShipRocked Q&A
After several months of strained silence, Taylor couldn’t resist addressing the bad blood once again during his Q&A session at ShipRocked 2022.
“For those of you that don’t know, MGK doesn’t like me very much,” he said in response to a fan question. “And let me follow that up by saying I don’t care. I won’t fill you in on the whole f—ing story because you can go online and look it all up. However, I will say this: He maintains that I started it. The truth is he started it.
“You don’t get to walk into a genre with the history, with the work… The fact that this genre really doesn’t get the f—ing respect that it deserves,” the rocker continued telling the crowd in fan-captured footage. “You don’t get to walk in as some weird substitute teacher and pretend that you can tell us what to wear — boots, shoes, house f—ing shoes, slippers. Why don’t you suck every inch of my d–k? You don’t get to do that. And these are bands that maybe I don’t even f—ing know, but guess what? I f—ing respect them because they get on f—ing stage and they f—ing give every f—ing thing they’ve got.”
NEWS
Harry Styles paid tribute to the late David Hockney and reflected on his time in One Direction last night (June 12), as he kicked off his record-breaking residency at Wembley Stadium.
Hockney – whose painting of Styles was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in 2023 – died on June 11, aged 88, and the musician honoured him during his set by sharing a quote from the painter on the big screens.
“What an artist is trying to do for people is bring them closer to something, because of course art is about sharing,” the quote read. “You wouldn’t be an artist unless you wanted to share an experience, a thought.”
Styles’ gig last night marked the first of 12 gigs at Wembley, which will see the star break the record for the most shows at the venue in a single tour. Coldplay previously held the record, delivering 10 gigs at the stadium last year as part of their Music Of The Spheres tour.
The London residency follows the Together, Together tour beginning in Amsterdam in May, and will be followed by stops in São Paulo, Mexico City, New York, Melbourne and Sydney. He will be supported by a different artist in each city, joined by Shania Twain in London, who delivered a set of hits and new tracks from her upcoming album, ‘Little Miss Twain’.
As the sounds of Simon And Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ played over the stadium PA, Styles made his way to the stage, kicking off his set with ‘Are You Listening Yet?’, from his latest album, ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally’. Between renditions of ‘Golden’ and ‘Adore You’, he addressed the crowd for the first time, saying: “Our job tonight is to entertain you. Your job is to have as much fun as you possibly can.
“If you want to sing, if you want to dance, please feel free. Please feel free to be whoever it is you’ve always wanted to be tonight. We’ve got each other’s backs.”
Throughout the night, Styles subtly reworked some of the songs on the setlist. He dedicated ‘Taste Back’ “to all the ravers in the house”, as a snippet of Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’ was interpolated into the song, while a brief burst of Talking Heads’ ‘This Must Be The Place’ was introduced to ‘Treat People With Kindness’. During ‘Dance No More’, the pop star’s band played part of the groove from Happy Mondays’ ‘Step On’, while Styles sang a snatch of Gorillaz’s ‘Clint Eastwood’.
There were also nods to Styles’ days in One Direction early in the set. As the musician left the stage after ‘Fine Line’, the string section on stage played a medley featuring clips of the group’s hits ‘Night Changes’ and ‘History’, plus Styles’ own track ‘Falling’. After ‘Keep Driving’, he took the time to reflect on Wembley’s connections to his and the boyband’s journeys.
“Just outside of this building, just next door, is Wembley Arena, and 16 years ago, my sister brought me to London for the very first time for my X Factor audition,” he said. “So driving here today, and any time I come through Wembley, means so much to me, ‘cause right in that building next door, I was put into a band. We were called One Direction.
The Together, Together setlist features a different surprise song each night at the start of the encore. Last night, Styles treated the Wembley audience to ‘Little Freak’, taken from ‘Harry’s House’, for the first time since 2023. After the song, he spoke to the audience for the final time, saying: “I don’t know if you’ve been listening to me for a week, or a month, or a year, or five years, or 10 years, or 16 years, or whatever it is, but you have changed my life over and over again. Thank you so much for being here and allowing us to do these shows. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
“Finally, 16 years ago, my mother signed me up for the X Factor without my knowledge. I wouldn’t be here today if she hadn’t done that. She’s here today – thank you so much. You’ve changed my life, all of you.” Referencing a lyric in ‘Dance No More’, he added: “Remember – respect your mother.”
‘Are You Listening Yet?’
‘Golden’
‘Adore You’
‘Watermelon Sugar’
‘Music From A Sushi Restaurant’
‘Taste Back’
‘Coming Up Roses’
‘Fine Line’
‘Italian Girls’
‘American Girls’
‘Keep Driving’
‘Ready, Steady, Go!’
‘Dance No More’
‘Treat People With Kindness’
‘Pop’
‘Season 2 Weight Loss’
‘Carla’s Song’
‘Aperture’
‘Little Freak’
‘Sign Of The Times’
‘As It Was’
The Together, Together, London residency continues at Wembley Stadium tonight, with further dates on June 17, 19, 20, 23, 26, 27, 29 and July 1, 3, and 4. Visit here for any remaining UK tickets and check out doors and stage times here.
The gigs will see Styles donate £1 from every ticket sold to LIVE’s levy to help protect UK grassroots music venues and support emerging talent, and before Styles’ headline performance, the big screens at the venue encouraged fans to support Music Venues Trust.
The tour is in support of the star’s latest album, ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally’, which was released in March. In a four-star review, NME described it as “an album that you’ll really want to spend a lot of time with, letting all its layers envelope you”. It added: “It’s the most exploratory album of his career so far, trying out new things and steering his ship in new directions.”
Meanwhile, Styles has also curated this year’s Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre. The line-up chosen by the star includes Stephen Fretwell, Nilüfer Yanya, Orlando Weeks, Bar Italia, Dev Hynes, Jon Hopkins, Getdown Services, LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, Soulwax and more, as well as an intimate gig from Styles himself.
The festival kicked off earlier this week (June 11) with a performance from Los Angeles’ Warpaint, whose show was their first in nearly two years. During the gig, they shared fan favourites like ‘Love Is To Die, ‘Billie Holiday’ and ‘Disco//Very’, plus a cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’.
