Kayla Nicole’s Toni Braxton Halloween costume was inspired by a girl named Taylor — but not the one fans are thinking of.
Nicole, 34, opened up about what led her to recreate Braxton’s look from her “He Wasn’t Man Enough” music video during the Monday, November 3, episode of her “
” podcast, revealing that she was inspired by a “very specific” childhood memory.
“I had a white best friend. Her name was Taylor,” she said. “And she [had] the only house I could go over to as a kid because my mom didn’t play them type of games. I specifically remember driving home from private school in my uniform in the back of a paddy wagon with Taylor, and her mom was playing this song.”
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Nicole then recalled having an “a-ha moment” as she thought, “Wow, white people listen to Black people music as well.”
The clarification came after fans accused the media personality of throwing shade at ex Travis Kelce and his fiancée, Taylor Swift, with the costume, which she unveiled on October 31.
Nicole took to Instagram on the holiday wearing a similar dress to the one Braxton, 58, wore in the “He Wasn’t Man Enough” video. The influencer posted a segment of the music video with clips inserted of herself recreating scenes and lip-synching to the song.
“Did you know about us back then? / Do you know I dumped your husband, girlfriend?” Nicole lip-synched. “I’m not thinking ’bout him / But you married him / Do you know I made him leave? / Do you know he begged to stay with me? / He wasn’t man enough for me.”
One fan commented on the post, “THIS is how you clap back to subtle shade 💯🤝 ATE & left NO CRUMBS‼️😮💨😮💨.”
“Now that’s a showgirl,” another user wrote, referring to Swift’s latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, which was released on October 3.
Many fans of Swift, 35, believe that the pop star included a dig at Nicole on the album’s song “Opalite.”
“You couldn’t understand it / Why you felt alone / You were in it for real / She was in her phone / You were just a pose,” Swift sings on the track. “And don’t we try to love love / And give it all we got / You finally left the table / And what a simple thought / You’re starving ’til you’re not.”
Fans theorized that the verse was a reference to a resurfaced social media clip of Kelce, 36, and Nicole interacting during their relationship, which took place from 2017 to 2022.
“Oh, my God. Get off your phone,” Kelce said in the clip. “Get off your phone. … You’re not even drinking your wine anymore, can we go?”
Nicole was previously accused of throwing shade at Swift one day after the album’s release. She took to her Instagram Stories with a throwback clip of Eva Marcille’s America’s Next Top Model audition in 2004.
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“How do you compare yourself to other girls out there?” host Tyra Banks asked Marcille, now 40, in the clip.
Marcille responded, “I don’t compare myself to other girls. I’m Eva. I’m no comparison to anyone else.”
Swift and Kelce have been dating since 2023 and announced their engagement this past August.
“Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married 🧨,” the couple captioned their garden engagement photos via Instagram.
