Toni Braxton reacted to Kayla Nicole dressing up as her for Halloween after the latter was accused of dissing Taylor Swift.
“I like to think that she was just paying homage to me and did it for Halloween,” the Grammy winner told “Entertainment Tonight” in an interview published Friday.
Nicole, who dated Travis Kelce from 2017 to 2022, was accused of dissing Swift when she recreated Braxton’s glammed-up look and music video for her 2000 track “He Wasn’t Man Enough” last month.
The internet personality, 34, took to Instagram to share a video of herself dancing and lip-syncing to the lyrics.
“Did you know about us back then? / Do you know I dumped your husband, girlfriend? I’m not thinking ’bout him / But you married him / Do you know I made him leave? / Do you know he begged to stay with me? / He wasn’t man enough for me,” the song lyrics read.
At the time, fans alleged that Nicole was subtly sending a message to Swift, 35, after the “Lover” songstress was accused of referring to the “Pre-Game” podcast host in her “The Life of a Showgirl” album.
When the “ET” interviewer informed Braxton, 58, about the rumored drama between Swift and Nicole, she responded with a laugh, “Oh, that’s bitter.”
Nicole, however, later clarified that her tribute to Braxton was inspired by a childhood memory during an episode of her podcast.
“I had a white best friend. Her name was Taylor,” she explained earlier this month. “And she [had] the only house I could go over to as a kid because my mom didn’t play them type of games.”
“I specifically remember driving home from private school in my uniform in the back of a paddy wagon with Taylor, and her mom was playing this song,” Nicole said.
The podcaster stated that she had an “ah-ha moment” realizing that “white people listen to black people music as well.”
Nicole later denied that she was “tearing other women down” with her costume, stating that she only wanted to “celebrate” Braxton.
“Halloween is an opportunity for me not to be myself and to dress up as someone that I admire, someone that I’ve been a fan of, someone that I think is chef’s kiss,” she said on her Nov. 8 podcast.
“You guys don’t want celebrities … to dress up as celebrities, but I’m confused because what am I supposed to do?” she asked. “A doctor? Superwoman?”
Nicole has subtly referred to her past romance with Kelce on her podcast, formerly talking about their dogs and telling critics to “move on.”
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