Beyoncé was named Billboard’s greatest pop star of the 21st century and Taylor Swift’s fans are up in arms.
The music outlet placed the 43-year-old above Swift’s second place standing on Tuesday and cited Beyoncé’s “full 25 years of influence, evolution and impact” as their reasoning.
Not long after they made the announcement, the singers’ respective fan bases took to social media to argue which of the Grammy winners was more deserving of the coveted spot.
“Taylor had more impact in the last 5 years than Beyoncé in her whole career ×5,” one Swiftie penned via X.
“In other words, because Taylor was 15, Beyoncé had the advantage.. what type of publication is this 
,” a second netizen added in the “Cruel Summer” singer’s defense.
A third Swift fan even used Billboard’s own descriptors for Beyoncé in defense of Swift by writing, “influence evolution and impact are all 3 words that describe taylor btw!”
Many of Swift’s fans also expressed their disapproval of Billboard for not using numerical data as a deciding factor for Beyoncé’s number one placement.
Especially since the outlet admitted, “Taylor Swift is the century’s biggest pop star by the numbers — from album sales to streams to touring dominance.”
“
so the staff picked [Beyoncé], not reality. got it,” one of Swift’s admirers penned in response.
Beyoncé’s fans, however, were quick to clap back at Swifties, citing that “in conclusion #talentwon.”
Meanwhile, a separate admirer of the “Single Ladies” hitmaker credited Beyoncé’s decades-long standing for her continued success.
“No one has been able to have the type of staying power Beyoncé has been able to have over the past three decades. And for that alone, she’s the biggest artist alive. [CLOSED],” they posted via X.
Despite the fans arguing over their respective favorite musician, Swift and the mother of three have publicly celebrated each other’s success in the past.
In October 2023, Beyoncé attended the red carpet premiere of the “Eras Tour” movie and even posed for photos with Swift.
The following month, Swift returned the favor and attended the London premiere of Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” film.
After Queen Bey attended the “Eras Tour” movie premiere, Swift took to Instagram to gush over the Texas-born recording artist.
“I’m so glad I’ll never know what my life would’ve been like without @beyonce‘s influence,” Swift penned in a clip of her and Beyoncé inside the theater together.
“She’s been a guiding light throughout my career and the fact that she showed up tonight was like an actual fairytale.”