Taylor Swift and Kanye West’s rivalry has been one of many greatest in music historical past. From the notorious 2009 VMAs incident to their short-lived friendship to Kanye’s shoutout on “Well-known” and Taylor’s response on status, it’s definitely been one for the historical past books. Taylor just lately mirrored on the feud and Kanye’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian leaking the 2016 telephone name about “Well-known” in her Time “Individual of the 12 months” interview.
As one of many longest-running rivalries in music, tons of followers revisit the drama when certainly one of them do one thing to stir the pot. With Taylor reflecting on the telephone name and her profession as a complete, look again on the whole timeline of their feud right here.
The 2009 MTV VMAs
The difficulty began between Taylor and Kanye in 2009, years earlier than Kim was within the image. Nobody will ever neglect the notorious second when Kanye stormed the stage on the 2009 Video Music Awards and interrupted Taylor whereas she was accepting the award for Feminine Video of the 12 months. He ran on-stage and introduced that Beyoncé had “top-of-the-line movies of all time.” In subsequent interviews, Taylor did reveal that Kanye had referred to as her to apologize after the very fact.
Taylor was simply 19 years outdated on the time, and the state of affairs publicly humiliated her. When Bey was given the Video of the 12 months award, she welcomed Taylor again to the stage to have her second. Within the years for the reason that notorious incident, Taylor has referred to it on a number of events, together with throughout a efficiency on her “Eras Tour” in August 2023.
Taylor Releases “Harmless,” and Kanye Drops “Runaway”
After the incident, the Converse Now singer responded by penning the track “Harmless” on her 2010 album and performing it at the exact same award present one 12 months after the incident. The track was not indignant, and though Taylor and Kanye have been removed from mates, it seemed like they have been placing the drama behind them.
On the 2010 award present, Kanye additionally made his return with the track “Runaway” from his magnum opus album My Stunning Darkish Twisted Fantasy. The efficiency not solely marked the start of the promo for the album, however the track appeared no less than partially impressed by the backlash he acquired for the incident.
Taylor & Kanye Cling Out on the Grammys
In 2015, they proved that each one was cool between them by hanging out on the 2015 Grammy Awards. JAY-Z helped facilitate the reconciliation, as he was mates with each Kanye AND Taylor. In August of that 12 months, Taylor spoke in regards to the two of them making up in a Vanity Fair interview. “I really feel like I wasn’t able to be mates with him till I felt like he had some form of respect for me, and he wasn’t able to be mates with me till he had some form of respect for me,” she stated. “Hey, I like him as an individual. And that’s a very good, good first step, a pleasant place for us to be.”
Taylor Introduces Kanye on the VMAs
On the 2015 VMA Awards that August, Taylor and Kanye’s relationship got here full circle, as she introduced him with the Video Vanguard Award on the present. She then stood beside Kim within the viewers and watched him communicate and carry out. Sadly, the solace was short-lived.
Kanye Releases “Well-known,” & Taylor Claps Again
In 2016, Kanye launched his track “Well-known,” which included the lyric, “I really feel like me and Taylor may nonetheless have intercourse, why? I made that b**** well-known.” He claimed that he referred to as Taylor to get her approval for the lyric earlier than releasing the track, however her publicist launched a press release that advised a distinct story. She admitted that Kanye did give Taylor a name, however stated Taylor by no means accredited the lyric that was within the track that the rapper launched.
When Taylor received the 2016 Grammy for Album of the 12 months, she once more made a dig at Kanye and the track. “I need to say to all of the younger ladies on the market, there are going to be individuals alongside the best way who will attempt to undercut your success or take credit score to your accomplishments or your fame,” she stated, through People. “f you simply give attention to the work, and also you don’t let these individuals sidetrack you, sometime if you get the place you’re going, you’ll go searching and you’ll know that it was you and the individuals who love you who put you there, and that would be the biggest feeling on the planet.”
Kim Kardashian Calls Out Taylor & Releases Cellphone Name Footage
That June, Kim did an interview with GQ, and branded Taylor a liar. Then, in July, she referred to as Taylor a ‘snake’ on X (previously Twitter), and launched illegally-recorded footage of Kanye and Taylor’s dialog about “Well-known” on Snapchat.
Taylor launched a scathing assertion in response by means of a spokesperson. “Taylor doesn’t maintain something towards Kim Kardashian as she acknowledges the strain Kim should be below and that she is simply repeating what she has been advised by Kanye West. Nonetheless, that doesn’t change the truth that a lot of what Kim is saying is wrong. Kanye West and Taylor solely spoke as soon as on the telephone whereas she was on trip along with her household in January of 2016 they usually have by no means spoken since. Taylor has by no means denied that dialog happened. It was on that telephone name that Kanye West additionally requested her to launch the track on her Twitter account, which she declined to do,” they stated.
Taylor Drops ‘status’
After the Midnights songwriter launched her assertion, she was shunned on social media, and he or she retreated from the general public eye. She didn’t tackle the state of affairs once more till the discharge of her 2017 track, “Look What You Made Me Do.” She subsequently launched the album status, which had a couple of songs that appeared to take digs at Ye, together with “I Did One thing Dangerous” and “This Is Why We Can’t Have Good Issues.”
Taylor Opens Up About Kanye to ‘Rolling Stone’
Throughout a 2019 interview with Rolling Stone, Taylor gave a extra detailed account of why she by no means absolutely trusted Kanye, even after they have been mates. She shared particular situations the place she felt manipulated by the rapper, together with earlier than presenting him with the Vanguard Award. “I noticed he’s so two-faced. That he desires to be good to me behind the scenes, however then he desires to look cool, rise up in entrance of everybody and speak s**t. And I used to be so upset. He wished me to come back speak to him after the occasion in his dressing room. I wouldn’t go,” she stated.
The Complete Cellphone Name Is Launched
The entire thing was seemingly put to mattress — till the FULL model of the “Well-known” telephone name was leaked in 2020. Taylor launched a press release displaying that she felt vindicated by the discharge. “As an alternative of answering those that are asking how I really feel in regards to the video footage that leaked, proving that I used to be telling the reality the entire time about *that decision* (you recognize, the one which was illegally recorded, that any individual edited and manipulated with a view to body me and put me, my household, and followers by means of hell for 4 years),” she wrote.
After Taylor’s assertion, Kim clapped again at her, referring to the many individuals affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and he or she additionally claimed that she “by no means edited” the footage. “@taylorswift13 has chosen to reignite an outdated trade – that at this cut-off date feels very self-serving given the struggling hundreds of thousands of actual victims are going through proper now,” she wrote on X. “On the time after they spoke the track had not been absolutely written but, however as everybody can see within the video, she manipulated the reality of their precise dialog in her assertion when her group stated she ‘declined and cautioned him about releasing a track with such a robust misogynistic message.”
Kanye Guarantees to Get Taylor’s Masters Again
Since “Well-known,” Taylor and Kanye have by no means made up, however amid her battle to regain possession of her grasp recordings from Scooter Braun, the rapper did publish that he was “GOING TO PERSONALLY SEE TO IT THAT TAYLOR SWIFT GETS HER MASTERS BACK” in a publish on X in September 2020. He stood by the assertion in an interview with Billboard a couple of days later. “All artists have to be free and personal their rights. Taylor Swift deserves that, identical to everybody else,” he stated.
Kim Listens to Taylor Years After Feud
In 2021, Kim filed for divorce from Kanye. Taylor didn’t publicly touch upon their cut up, however afterwards, the SKIMs founder did reveal some shocking musical preferences. Kim admitted that she is a fan of Taylor’s music in an interview with political commentator Bari Weiss. “They’re all tremendous cute and catchy,” she stated.
Two years later, Kim additional confirmed that she’s a fan by dancing alongside along with her daughter North West in January 2023. In March, she additionally posted a video of herself understanding to the Lover lower “You Must Calm Down.”
Taylor Seems to be Again on the Notorious Cellphone Name in ‘Time’ Interview.
Over seven years after the “Well-known” telephone name was launched, Taylor mirrored on the state of affairs extra in her Time interview, when she was named “Individual of the 12 months.” She spoke about how down she felt after everybody referred to as her out following Kim’s leak. “That took me down psychologically to a spot I’ve by no means been earlier than,” she stated. “I used to be afraid to get on telephone calls. I pushed away most individuals in my life as a result of I didn’t belief anybody anymore. I went down actually, actually exhausting.”
Taylor Releases ‘thanK you aIMee’ & Extra From ‘TTPD’
Im April 2024, Taylor launched her double album, The Tortured Poets Division, and Swifties have been satisfied that it included a number of jabs at Kim and Kanye. Within the observe, “thanK you aIMee,” the lyrics level to an individual that bullied Taylor. Not solely that, however the title even spells out Kim’s identify within the three capitalized letters.
