Kayla Nicole’s Toni Braxton Tribute Fuels Feud Rumors; Braxton Calls for Compassion

Toni Braxton spoke about model Kayla Nicole's Halloween tribute on Nov. 21. 

Nicole put up a video on Oct. 31, wearing Braxton's look from the 2000 music video "He Wasn't Man Enough." Nicole wore a shiny chain dress over a chrome bikini and moved to lyrics like "Do you know I dumped your husband, girlfriend?" The song also says, "He wasn't man enough for me."

Braxton called it "bitter" once she found out fans viewed it as a dig at Taylor Swift. The R&B star shared her thoughts during an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

"I like to think that she was just paying homage to me and did it for Halloween," Braxton told ET, per Complex. The reporter explained that fans thought the costume was aimed at Swift, who is engaged to Nicole's ex, Travis Kelce. Braxton's response? "Oh, that's bitter."

The costume appeared after Swift dropped her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, which features the song "Opalite." Listeners think certain lines point to Kayla Nicole, though the pop star never names anyone directly: "You couldn't understand it, why you felt alone / You were in it for real, she was in her phone / And you were just a pose," Swift sings on the track.

Kayla Nicole dated Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce from 2017 to 2022. Swift and Kelce are now engaged.

Braxton gave another interview published by AP News. She praised how Nicole pulled off the tribute. "Her body is crazy," the singer said, adding that "the choreographer needs to be blessed and thanked."

Kayla Nicole talked about the mess on a podcast interview. She said the costume wasn't meant to target anyone. "I'm not in the business of tearing other women down," she said, according to Sportskeeda. "This was about celebrating an icon in my culture."

"He Wasn't Man Enough" hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2000. It topped the R&B/Hip-Hop chart and won a GRAMMY.

Swift and Kelce haven't commented on the situation.