If you thought you'd seen the last of the years-long feud between Kanye West and Taylor Swift, think again. Taylor Swift fans took to Twitter on Friday night to trend #KanyeWestIsOverParty. The hashtag was meant to be a celebration after new footage was released of a 25-minute call between Taylor and Kanye regarding the lyrics on his 2016 track "Famous."
Fans of the 30-year-old pop star believed the call vindicated Taylor's stance on lyrics mentioning her. The lyrics state, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/I made that [expletive] famous." Taylor's camp has insisted that she did not authorize those lyrics. Footage of the phone call released by Kim Kardashian in July of that year seemed to prove otherwise.
That video led Taylor to face widespread backlash for the first time in her career. She took time away from the spotlight, only to release her album Reputation on the 10th anniversary of the death of Kanye's mother, Donda West. The subtle but powerful move showed that the feud between the two artists showed no signs of slowing down.
Although it's unclear who released the footage of the full call, fans in both camps are at it again. Taylor released a cheeky statement telling fans to focus on what's important while continuing to defend her stance. After Taylor fans invaded every area of her online life, Kim Kardashian is finally speaking out. In her statement, she notes this is the last time she'll speak on the matter.
The feud between Kanye West and Taylor Swift has reignited. The two artists have been at odds since the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when Kanye infamously stormed the stage to interrupt Taylor's acceptance speech for the best female video and say Beyoncé deserved the award instead. The incident, which Kanye has since apologized for, launched a bitter hatred between fans of the two artists.
Despite an attempt at friendship, the two found themselves at odds again in 2016. In a track on his album The Life of Pablo, Kanye had a line about Taylor that shocked many. Fans viscerally reacted to the lyrics: "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/ I made that [expletive] famous."
Publically, Taylor's camp slammed the lyric, saying that Taylor "cautioned [Kanye] about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message. Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric, 'I made that [expletive] famous.'"
Kanye, for his part, explained that he contacted Taylor and got her consent on those lyrics. The back-and-forth continued until Kim Kardashian stepped in.
Kim revealed in a June 2016 GQ interview that a recording of the conversation existed. Later, Kim shared parts of the footage on Snapchat. For all intents and purposes, it appears Taylor did know of the lyric. However, at the time of the call, the expletive used was not part of the lyric. This is the hangup that has kept the feud alive.
We can all appreciate that the word in question has a complicated history. There's also a difference in how the word is utilized and interpreted in hip-hop culture and how it is in society at large.
"You might be able to quote the, 'I said [expletive]' Key & Peele sketch with your friends and loved ones and always have a good laugh. But if you quoted it to your coworker or waitress or TSA agent, you could be in for some trouble," noted Forbes contributor Chris Lambert in his analysis of the latest leg of the feud. "The phrase, without context, won’t mean the same thing to everyone."
So how did this all come to prominence while we're in the midst of something much more important than any of this? A leak of the full footage of the call left Taylor fans feeling vindicated. They believed it supported Taylor's points about the call.
However, the call in its entirety doesn't offer much in the way of new information. Yes, Kanye did not mention the word in question. Also yes, Taylor acknowledged the tongue-in-cheek nature of the lyrics, comparing them to Eminem's celebrity mentions.
The timing of the leak was interesting. The call leaked just hours after Kanye began getting positive press for donations made to organizations providing meals to communities that are struggling. Kanye donated undisclosed amounts to both the Dream Center in Los Angeles and We Women Empowered in his hometown of Chicago.
"Today, when I got that call that Kanye West wanted to help the elderly in Chicago and he chose his hometown in the South Side, his old neighborhood, I was beyond words,” Josephine "Mother" Wade told the Chicago Sun-Times.
"And in one phone call, in an instance today, our world has changed. He may not even realize it but I knew his mother and I used to help them many years ago. All I can say is, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.'"
Taylor has responded to the video leak and also encouraged her fans to focus on others, although she took a different approach.
"Instead of answering those who are asking how I feel about video footage that was leaked, proving that I was telling the truth the whole time about that call (you know, the one that was illegally recorded, that somebody edited and manipulated in order to frame me and put me, my family, and fans through hell for 4 years)," she wrote on her Instagram story. "Swipe up to see what really matters." The link led to a donation page for Feeding America.
Kim was also busy trying to make a difference, with her own Skims sale raising money for Baby2Baby. She broke her silence late Monday night in a series of tweets also shared to her Instagram story.
"@taylorswift13 has chosen to reignite an old exchange – that at this point in time feels very self-serving given the suffering millions of real victims are facing right now," she began.
"I didn’t feel the need to comment a few days ago, and I’m actually really embarrassed and mortified to be doing it right now, but because she continues to speak on it, I feel I’m left without a choice but to respond because she is actually lying," she continued.
"To be clear, the only issue I ever had around the situation was that Taylor lied through her publicist who stated that 'Kanye never called to ask for permission…' They clearly spoke so I let you all see that. Nobody ever denied the word '[expletive]' was used without her permission."
"At the time when they spoke the song had not been fully written yet, but as everyone can see in the video, she manipulated the truth of their actual conversation in her statement when her team said she 'declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message,'" Kim explained.
"The lie was never about the word [expletive], It was always whether there was a call or not and the tone of the conversation."
"I never edited the footage (another lie) – I only posted a few clips on Snapchat to make my point and the full video that recently leaked doesn’t change the narrative," she added.
"To add, Kanye as an artist has every right to document his musical journey and process, just like she recently did through her documentary. Kanye has documented the making of all of his albums for his personal archive, however, has never released any of it for public consumption & the call between the two of them would have remained private or would have gone in the trash had she not lied & forced me to defend him."
Kim went on to say that this is her final comment on the matter. "This will be the last time I speak on this because honestly, nobody cares," she concluded.
"Sorry to bore you all with this. I know you are all dealing with more serious and important matters."
Taylor's publicist replied defending herself, saying that the couple must have upset someone for them to leak the video.
No one here seems to be completely innocent in the matter. None of this would have happened if Kanye had stayed in his seat 11 years ago. In the times that the matter has gone dormant, however, Taylor has been quick to bring it up again. She has a right to defend herself, but it seems short-sighted considering how heavily her body of work has relied on unflattering commentary on other public figures.
There is one area where all three are correct. There are organizations that can benefit from this being drummed up for the umpteenth time. The best thing you can do is show your support for the party of your choice by donating to the organizations of theirs. If you have to take a side, make it count.
Donate to the Dream Center, We Women Empowered, Feeding America, or Baby2Baby today.
