Teyana Taylor Calls Out Kayla Nicole Over Controversy Involving Ex Iman Shumpert: 'I Didn't Know She Was Being Shady'
Teyana Taylor has seemingly responded to Kayla Nicole's controversial statements in a recent podcast appearance.
Nicole recently had the internet buzzing when she recounted a personal story during her appearance on Angel Reese's podcast "Unapologetically." The details of her anecdote have led some fans to believe the "singer/actress" she mentioned may be none other than Taylor.
In a lengthy comment Teyana left Friday on The Shade Room's Instagram post featuring a tweet she previously shared in response to the whole situation, the singer-actress did not hold back in calling out Nicole for her choice of words and shady storytelling.
"[Expletive] the iman part, I'm divorced and happily so, however her choice of words were very distasteful and uncalled for. She knew exactly what she was doing. That lady said 'she was famous at the time' all said 'idc who see it' it was very distasteful and uncalled for," Taylor wrote.
The "Book of Clarence" star went on to assert that the YouTuber knew that people would dig up after dropping such controversial statements and her name would be dragged into the conversation without her even saying a word.
"Crazy part about it all is, I actually showed love under her pic when she posted it! Like I did the other 3736262626 people that dressed up as me for Halloween. Whole time I ain't even know she was being shady. Now I do. So in that case petty panties on. I had my lil fun I said what I said & now I'm done and headed back to set," Teyana concluded.
During Nicole's podcast guesting, she described an experience she referred to as one of her "favorite crazy Kayla stories." She revealed that a man she had been seeing at the time abruptly ended their relationship, via text message, to be with a famous singer and actress.
"So 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. He dumped me for her. Lied about it for months then popped out with her and it became this public thing," Nicole shared.
Although Kayla did not directly name the couple, she further described their relationship as "another iconic celebrity relationship," which soon became public and left her heartbroken. As a reaction to the breakup, Kayla decided to dress up as the famous woman for Halloween that same year.
Social media users were quick to connect the dots and suggested that the costume Kayla referenced was a replication of Taylor's iconic look from Kanye West's "Fade" music video. This fueled online speculation, leading to Taylor and Nicole's names trending on different social media platforms.
As the conversation surrounding the podcast episode gained traction, Taylor seemed to respond with a cryptic Instagram post. Sharing a video of the late TLC member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Taylor included a soundbite in which Left Eye says, "And everyone get ready to do your math." While Taylor did not explicitly mention Nicole or the podcast, many internet sleuths interpreted the post as her way of addressing the rumors.
Fans of both Taylor and Nicole immediately dissected the timeline of the story. Taylor and her now ex-husband, former NBA player Iman Shumpert, were romantically linked as early as 2013, though they only went public with their relationship in 2014.
They became engaged in 2015 and tied the knot the following year. The couple's marriage appeared strong until January 2023, when Taylor privately filed for divorce. The divorce became public later in the year, and it was finalized this past June.
