New Video Shows Taylor Swift Was Telling the Truth in ‘Famous’ Feud With Kanye West [Watch]
A new, unedited clip of an infamous phone call between Taylor Swift and Kanye West appears to show that she's been telling the truth in a feud they've been embroiled in since 2016 over the lyrics to West's song, "Famous."
Swift vehemently objected in public after West dropped the song in 2016, saying that she had never given her approval over a line that says, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / I made that b---h famous."
West's wife, Kim Kardashian-West, went to her husband's defense and posted a clip of a phone call West and Swift had via Snapchat, where Swift appeared to approve the lyrics of the song. Kardashian-West labeled Swift a "snake" after sharing the video, and Swift fired back in a since-deleted statement on her Instagram account that said, "Where is the video of Kanye telling me he was going to call me ‘that b---h’ in his song?"
"Taylor has never denied that conversation took place," a representative for Swift told GQ in 2016 (quote via People). "Kanye West never told Taylor he was going to use the term ‘that b—‘ in referring [to] her."
"A song cannot be approved if it was never heard. Kanye West never played the song for Taylor Swift. Taylor heard it for the first time when everyone else did and was humiliated."
New, unedited footage of the phone call emerged online on Saturday (March 21), appearing to show that West did not, in fact, inform Swift of that specific line. In the video, West shares the lyric, "I feel like Taylor Swift might owe me sex," but doesn't mention that it refers to her as "that b---h." He also asks Swift to promote his single across her social media, a request that clearly makes her uncomfortable.
Swift later incorporated the snake logo into her 2017 Reputation album and subsequent tour in reference to the feud and the fallout she suffered from it. She turned to her Instagram Story on Monday (March 23) to comment on the new video, saying, "Instead of answering those who are asking how I feel about the video footage that 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 was encouraging her fans to focus on "what really matters."
She shared a link to the World Health Organization's page referencing the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Solidarity Response Fund, sharing that she has been donating to the WHO and Feeding America.
Swift and West first began their feud in 2009, when Swift won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video for her crossover single "You Belong With Me." Swift was giving her acceptance speech when West stormed the stage and took the microphone to say, "Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. Of all time!" Beyonce had been nominated that year for her female empowerment anthem, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)."
See the Nastiest Feuds in Country Music