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Years ago, a rift between Taylor Swift and Kimye — the collective term for Kim Kardashian and Kanye West — altered the trajectory of three highly publicized careers indefinitely.
Before the significant falling out in 2016, the trio seemed to be close. Kanye, infamous for his outburst at the 2009 VMAs, even sought Swift’s approval for a set of controversial lyrics years later. However, orchestrated by Kardashian during the height of her fame, this incident sparked a highly publicized feud that lingered for years and is now poised to resurface with the release of “thanK you aIMee” and the impending drop of Reputation (Taylor’s Version).
The discord between Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian had roots that predated their friendship. Kanye West was the contentious link in their tumultuous relationship, which began with his infamous interruption of Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2009 VMAs. Despite reconciling with Swift in 2016, West released “Famous” as part of The Life of Pablo album, reigniting tensions.
The song’s lyrics, particularly the line “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/Why? I made that b*tch famous,” sparked controversy. While Kardashian and West claimed Swift had approved the lyrics, she refuted this, leading to a public backlash against her. Swift faced severe criticism, prompting her to remove many social media posts and adopt the snake imagery in her Reputation album.
In 2019, Swift hinted in an Elle cover story that West and Kardashian never apologized for the backlash they incited. A year later, the unedited audio of Swift’s conversation with West emerged online, revealing discrepancies in the narrative presented by Kimye in 2016. Swift’s response, urging fans to donate to COVID-19 relief, garnered widespread praise.
Despite attempts by Kardashian to downplay the feud, Swift candidly addressed the toll it took on her career, describing it as “career death.” However, she ultimately rebounded, but the incident left a lasting impact.
In 2024, as speculation mounts about the target of “thanK you aIMee” — hinted at by the capitalized letters spelling “Kim” — and anticipation builds for the re-release of Reputation, the Kimye/Taylor dispute is set to resurface. The renewed examination of songs and likely new content will prompt fresh conversations about the history shared by these famous frenemies.