Why Elon Musk, Donald Trump and movie stars can’t stop fighting in public?

Dubai: There was a time when Keeping Up with the Kardashians or Bigg Boss defined peak pettiness. We tuned in for flying flute glasses and chucking flip-flops in anger, depending on which time zone you lived in.

But now? We’ve got a whole new class of real-life drama queens and kings. And no, they’re not influencers — they’re billionaires, Bollywood bigwigs, and Hollywood A-listers who’ve swapped discreet underhand sparring for digital duels. Whatever happened to discretion, guys?

In the good ole' days, stars and tycoons settled differences with lawyers, legacy and a bit of class. Now? It’s emojis, subtweets, and ego wars in 280 characters or less.

Welcome to the new-age colosseum — where Elon Musk and Donald Trump are sparring like uncles in a WhatsApp family group.

The app may be rebranded, but the behaviour? Still pure playground!

So, here’s the real tea: Have our public figures truly lost the plot? Or have we, the ever-thirsty audience, just made public meltdowns a form of premium entertainment?

In Hollywood, drama isn’t confined to the screen. Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West and Kim Kardashian was practically a decade-long soap opera — complete with leaked calls, emoji warfare, and a hashtag (#KimExposedTaylorParty) that trended harder than any album. Nicki Minaj and Cardi B took things from Twitter shade to stilettos flying across New York Fashion Week. Meek Mill and Drake? A Twitter squabble that escalated into diss tracks and Grammy-worthy revenge.

Even Hollywood’s seemingly mild-mannered elite haven’t resisted. J.K. Rowling publicly scorched Piers Morgan in a viral tweet thread. Zayn Malik and Calvin Harris had a full-on musical morality war. Every feud becomes a headline, and every spat becomes a screenshot.

Back home, Bollywood is proving it can match the drama beat for beat.

Take Karan Johar vs. Ram Gopal Varma — a feud so long-running it deserves its own IMDb page. From mocking each other's film sensibilities to throwing shade about box-office clout, these two directorial heavyweights have mastered the art of the indirect insult.

Twinkle Khanna once likened Chetan Bhagat’s judging skills to analysing “dog mess.”

Sonam Kapoor famously called Shobhaa De a “fossil,” only to walk it back when the internet turned up the heat.

Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan spent years trading cold shoulders and cryptic tweets, setting their fandoms ablaze with every gesture, like, or omission.

And then there’s the latest messy breakup: Sandeep Reddy Vanga vs. Deepika Padukone.

The story? Deepika walked out of Vanga’s upcoming film Spirit reportedly over a fair fee demand and — shocker — her insistence on an eight-hour workday. Rather than issuing a professional statement, Vanga resorted to liking tweets that painted her as entitled and “difficult,” letting social media do the dirty work.

What should’ve been a routine casting change morphed into a passive-aggressive PR war. Because in the current clout economy, silence is out — and shady tweets are in.

Why are the most powerful people — politicians, billionaires, actors — acting like they’re in a group chat with no moderator? Is this ego gone wild, or strategy masked as scandal?

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: we might be the problem too.

We retweet the clapbacks. We fan the shade. We turn every digital tantrum into content — turning meltdowns into metrics and replacing diplomacy with drama.

Social media was supposed to democratise conversation. Instead, it has become a stage for ego-driven entertainment.

Our leaders, stars, and creatives now perform their grudges like viral episodes, and we, the loyal audience, keep showing up for the next one.

So the question remains: Have the Goliaths truly lost the plot — or are they just giving us what we keep asking for?

1. Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West & Kim Kardashian
Snake emojis, leaked calls, and a hashtag war that defined a decade.

2. Nicki Minaj vs. Cardi B
Shade online, shoes offline — the clash that shook the Met.

3. Karan Johar vs. Ram Gopal Varma
Years of veiled jabs and direct digs, no resolution in sight.

4. Sonam Kapoor vs. Shobhaa De
A “fossil” tweet that aged poorly — and forced an apology.

5. Sandeep Reddy Vanga vs. Deepika Padukone
She left Spirit. He liked shady tweets. The subtext screamed.

6. Meek Mill vs. Drake
A ghostwriting accusation that gave us legendary diss tracks.