Musicians Taylor Swift and Kanye West have been in a social battle since the 2009 Video Music Awards, or VMAs. West decided to storm the stage during her award acceptance and claim that Swift did not deserve the award for Best Female Music Video, but Beyonce Knowles-Carter did instead.
The 2009 incident was allegedly put behind the pair in 2015, when at that year’s VMAs, Swift called West out. In her acceptance speech for the Video of the Year Award for her “Bad Blood” music video, Swift referenced the event, saying, “So, I guess I have to say to all the other winners tonight, I’m really happy for you, and I’ma let you finish, but Kanye West had one of the greatest careers of all time.”
The peace lasted until 2016, when a phone call took place between Swift and West. This phone call was recorded by West’s then wife, Kim Kardashian, unbeknownst to Swift. In the video of the phone call, it shows West asking Swift if he could use her name in a song. What was not shown was West asking to refer to Swift in the manner that he did.
“I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that b***h famous,” said West in his song “Famous.”
According to Swift and her fanbase, the way West referred to Swift was not agreed upon. In fact, the lyrics reportedly made Swift quite uncomfortable. The real tipping point, however, was the “Famous” music video where West showed himself in bed with a seemingly naked mannequin that was meant to represent Swift. In Swift’s next album “reputation,” she references West in the song “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.”
In the lyrics of her song, Swift never mentions West by name, instead she said, “Friends don’t try to trick you, get you on the phone and mind twist you.”
Swift also referenced the phone call in her song “Look What You Made Me Do” when she says, “I’m sorry the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh … ‘Cause she’s dead!”
After this release, Swift seemingly let go of the feud, not publicaly referencing it again. West, on the other hand, has repeatedly mentioned Swift in a range of contexts. In a feud that West had with comedian Pete Davidson, West photoshopped Swift’s head on a superhero from the “Captain America: Civil War” poster on Davidson’s side. This event confused the public, as neither Davidson or Swift had mentioned West recently.
Swift has not since publicly responded but has grown in her own career to become Spotify’s No. 1 artist globally, broken all sales and Billboard Top 100 records and is currently on the biggest tour in all of music history.
“I think it is incredibly impressive, the work that Taylor has done,” said Asees Goraya, a freshman business major. “I honestly just think that Ye is jealous of her success.”
Due to the success that Swift has gained, many of her rivals have used her name in order to step into some of her spotlight. West is no exception to wanting a piece of what some have dubbed “The Swift Effect.” In a recent song release titled “CARNIVAL,” West name-dropped Swift yet again, sharing increasingly sexualized references regarding her.
“He [West] just needs his diaper changed so badly,” said Jack Antonoff, a close friend and producer of Swift.
Fans of both artists can agree that the feud between the pair has become tired and ridiculous.
“How he speaks about her is disrespectful but definitely just trolling for publicity,” said Mary Tortorete, a senior education major.
Regardless of West’s verbal attacks, Swift has yet to respond. Some students have speculated that Swift is more mature than West, and that is the reason for her lack of response.
“I think her not responding just proves how mature Taylor Swift is compared to Kanye and that she will truly put everything behind her, unlike Kanye West,” said Emily Heffron, a sophomore mass communication major.
With the highly anticipated, albeit unconfirmed rerelease of Reputation (Taylor’s Version) of her album “reputation,” expected soon, Swift’s fans are anticipating how her added songs will respond to the bad blood she has with West. With each rerelease, Swift includes these additional “vault tracks,” which are songs written for the original album but never released. Of course, no one knows what goes on behind closed doors, but the rerelease will be a spectacle in the media for music lovers across all genres to talk about.
