Teyana Taylor has been in her bag lately and while she often does not have time to clap back she had time for this one.
According to COMPLEX she went into defense mode after being provoked by media correspondent Kayla Nicole on the podcast Unapologetically Angel.
While Nicole is known for previously dating NFL star Travis Kelce, on the latest episode of the Angel Reese-hosted podcast, she alluded to once dating another celebrity, who dumped her for a “singer/actress.”
“I was dating a guy and he dumped me through a text message and he dumped me for this singer/actress who was famous at the time,” Nicole said around the 57-minute mark of the video below. “[He] lied about it for months then popped out with her. It became like this public thing and it was like, ‘Oh my God, we love them. Another celebrity iconic relationship.'”
Nicole said she was “devastated” and “heartbroken” at the time and had moved to New York beforehand to be with the man, but got over it by dressing up as his girlfriend for Halloween.
“It went viral, it was everywhere,” she said.
Viewers connected the dots and went through Nicole’s past social media posts, coming to the conclusion that she was referring to former NBA player Iman Shumpert and Teyana Taylor, who divorced this year.
In Halloween videos and pictures from 2016, Nicole dressed as Taylor from Kanye West’s “Fade” music video, which co-starred Shumpert.
and
I was gone bust out the crybaby jawn but my mom follow me and I ain't tryna hear it. #FADE #halloween2016 #haterswillSTILLsayitsphotoshop pic.twitter.com/bEPYpYDWUo
— that girl. (@iamkaylanicole) November 1, 2016
Teyana Claps back
Taylor reacted to the viral podcast segment on Instagram, seemingly unaware about Nicole and Shumpert’s history.
“It’s really crazy that everyone is allowed to bother me & be distasteful… EVERYBODY gets to play.. while I move with grace. ALWAYS!” But now I wanna have a lil sagittarius fun too and it’s a problem? F-ck the iman part, l’m divorced and happily so, however her choice of words were very distasteful and uncalled for,” Taylor wrote on Instagram about Nicole’s shade.
“She knew exactly what she was doing. That lady said “she was famous at the time” also said “idc who see it” it was very distasteful & uncalled for. Most importantly she knew people would dig. So automatically my name is attached to the nonsense.”
Taylor added that the segment was a “quick search” since her name “was trending” without her “saying a word.”
“On top of the fact that the math wasn’t mathing & the facts weren’t fact’ing. However, the level of cringe factor was. Lol. I’m finding out just like the world that her intentions were ill and petty,” she wrote. “She pulled the black card when it came to Taylor Swift, but in the same circle, turned around and tried to bully the black woman that was married to her situationship she claimed “dumped her” for me. Dressing up like me for what??”
In another post, Taylor doubled down on the Swift mention, writing, “I know 2025 gone hate to see a Taylor coming!!,” with a carousel of her upcoming film projects.
The post was soundtracked by Swift’s “Shake It Off,” as the musician is currently dating Kelce.
Watch the entire episode below:
Kayla has since responded with a few tweets of her own.
I will continue to speak on my life experiences when I see fit with zero shame, because it’s my story to tell. And if it helps just one woman avoid the tough lessons I’ve learned, my obstacles will not have been in vain.
— that girl. (@iamkaylanicole) October 11, 2024
and
I share a sliver of my truth for once and here y’all come with the group chat think pieces pic.twitter.com/Tsa8Vd8OYf
— that girl. (@iamkaylanicole) October 11, 2024
