SZA “deeply applauds” Taylor Swift for re-recording her albums following a dispute over her masters.
The singer-songwriter, real name Solána Imani Rowe, and the “Shake It Off” star are often competing for top spots on the music charts.
But in an interview for Billboard, SZA named Taylor as one of the women in the music industry whom she looks up to the most.
“Even Taylor letting that whole situation go with her masters and then selling all of those f**king records. That’s the biggest ‘f**k you’ to the establishment I’ve ever seen in my life, and I deeply applaud that s**t,” she revealed.
In 2019, Taylor became embroiled in a dispute with Big Machine Records’ Scott Borchetta and record executive Scooter Braun over the master recordings of her first six albums.
Following a highly publicized conflict, the star began re-recording her music, releasing Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) to critical acclaim in 2021.
Elsewhere in the conversation, SZA listed Lizzo, Beyoncé, Kehlani, and Chloe Bailey as other women in the entertainment industry she respects.
The “SOS” hitmaker conducted the interview to celebrate being recognized as Billboard’s Woman of the Year.
However, SZA confessed she feels a lot of responsibility to use her platform in a positive way.
“It really scares me. But I really want to do something with my time in the sun right now,” the 33-year-old noted. “There’s so much I want to do for other people. I need to do something to deserve that in a way that has nothing to do with me, something that’s selfless and uplifts other women, people, period.”