From her tour set designs to her mind-boggling fashion looks, Katy Perry is known for adding her quirky, imaginative flair to pretty much everything she does.

So it’s no surprise that Perry’s reaching out to former friend Taylor Swift was done with a certain pizzazz.

Swift, who announced their communication on Instagram last night (8 May), had spent the morning preparing for the first show of her Redemption tour, taking to Instagram stories to give followers a glimpse of her behind-the-scenes antics. But as well as documenting her journey to the arena and Charlie XCX’s soundcheck (who is touring with her as support), Swift also took fans inside her dressing room to unveil a very special delivery.

Speaking over the video Swift said, “So I just got to my dressing room and found this actual olive branch. This means so much to me,” while sweeping the camera across a gift box lined with white tissue paper and filled with a lush bundle of olive branches. 

On the story, a hand-written letter can be seen sitting in the center of the branches, of which the first line reads: “Hey old friend, I’ve been doing some reflecting on past miscommunications and the hurt feelings between us.”

Written across the Instagram story, Swift added the words: “Thank-you Katy”.

This seemingly confirms that the sender’s identity is Perry.

This warm gesture sends a message of support and reconciliation - one which feels particularly poignant, having been sent within an industry where women are so often pitted against each other.

Rumours that the singers had ended their friendship first surfaced in 2014, when Swift released her song Bad Blood and admitted that it was about another woman in the music industry that she now saw as an “enemy”.

Perry later confirmed that she and Swift had fallen out during an episode of James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke in 2017, adding that their argument had been “about backing dancers”.

She continued: “It’s so crazy… there’s three backing dancers that went on tour with her tour, right? They asked me before they went on tour, could they go and I was like, ‘yeah, of course, I’m not on a record cycle and you should get the work and she’s great and all that’.”

Perry explained that she shared a close relationship with the dancers and told them to get a 30 day contingency contract with Swift so that if they wanted to join her tour the following year, they would be able to. Perry claims that when her tour was ready for rehearsals the dancers asked to leave Swift’s tour and join hers, which she tried to speak to her friend about but was apparently refused contact.

Perry closed the subject with a sentiment that she clearly has been thinking on since last year, saying: “I think personally, that women together, and not divided, will heal the world.”

Although it’s disheartening that two huge female performer’s success in landing incredible round-the-world tours eventually resulted in a dispute, Perry’s move to reconcile their friendship - and Swift’s positive reception - is a wonderfully encouraging example of how women can stick together and support each other in not just the music industry, but every industry.

Long live Swerry!

Images: Getty