https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/Ongoing. Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, apologized, and later accepted an award from her at the 2015 ceremony. The 2016 song "Famous" started a dispute over whether Swift had approved a lyric about her, which grew when Kim Kardashian posted clips of a recorded call and when a longer recording appeared in 2020. West referred to Swift again in a 2024 song and in 2025 social media posts.enhttps://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e24kanye-west-taylor-swift-e52ab5a49cSun, 09 Feb 2025 12:00:00 +0000During Kendrick Lamar's halftime performance at Super Bowl LIX, West posted on X objecting to Swift being shown on television singing a song he described as being about taking down a Black man. The Independent said he appeared to be referring to Lamar's "Not Like Us". He then wrote that he was logging out, and his account appeared to be deactivated. The reports recorded no statement from Swift.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e22kanye-west-taylor-swift-a5944ccef9Sat, 10 Feb 2024 12:00:00 +0000"Carnival", on West's album Vultures 1 with Ty Dolla $ign, included a sexually suggestive line naming Swift. The Straits Times reported criticism from her fans on social media. Neither report opened for this page recorded a response from Swift.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e23kanye-west-taylor-swift-81d6ac3a3dThu, 01 Feb 2024 12:00:00 +0000West posted that he was not the enemy of Swift's fans and said he had helped her career more than harmed it. He also shared a fan's post urging people to stream Beyonce's single "Texas Hold 'Em" to keep him from the top of the Billboard chart. No response from Swift was reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e21kanye-west-taylor-swift-83c21448acWed, 06 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +0000In her Time Person of the Year interview, Swift described the clips as coming from an illegally recorded call that she said Kardashian edited to portray her as a liar. She said the episode affected her psychologically and that her career had been taken from her. The reports opened for this page record no response from West or Kardashian.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e18kanye-west-taylor-swift-ee8aff52c3Sun, 01 Mar 2020 12:00:00 +0000A video presented as the full call, about 25 minutes long, circulated online. The reports opened for this page did not say who posted it. Variety reported that West described lyrics about Swift but did not use the derogatory word on the call. CNN said it had not authenticated the video.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e19kanye-west-taylor-swift-6d1b4d690fSun, 01 Mar 2020 12:00:00 +0000In an Instagram story, Swift said the footage showed she had been truthful about the call. She described the call as illegally recorded and said somebody had edited and manipulated it to frame her. She also pointed followers to a pandemic food relief donation page.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e20kanye-west-taylor-swift-56c1615218Sun, 01 Mar 2020 12:00:00 +0000In a series of tweets, Kardashian said she had never edited the footage and had posted only a few clips. She said the dispute was about whether the call took place and its tone, said Swift was lying and said her post felt self-serving given the suffering of millions of people at the time.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e16kanye-west-taylor-swift-f85d5ce911Fri, 01 Jul 2016 12:00:00 +0000Kardashian posted video clips on Snapchat of a phone call in which West described the planned song to Swift. In the clips Swift called a line about the two of them a compliment and thanked him for telling her.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e17kanye-west-taylor-swift-a8934800d7Fri, 01 Jul 2016 12:00:00 +0000In a statement posted on social media, Swift said West had promised to play her the song but never did, and maintained that she had not heard the part referring to her. She described the episode as character assassination and asked to be left out of the story.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e15kanye-west-taylor-swift-7af173b182Fri, 24 Jun 2016 12:00:00 +0000West premiered the "Famous" video at the Forum in Inglewood. It showed nude figures of 12 celebrities in a bed, including a likeness of Swift. The Week reported that the figures were presumed to be waxworks rather than the people themselves.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e13kanye-west-taylor-swift-0cbc532497Thu, 16 Jun 2016 12:00:00 +0000In a GQ cover story, Kim Kardashian said Swift had approved the song during a call and that there was video footage of the conversation. She said Swift's team then sent an attorney's letter asking that the footage be destroyed.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e14kanye-west-taylor-swift-3cb382e7e6Thu, 16 Jun 2016 12:00:00 +0000A spokesperson for Swift said she had never denied that the conversation took place, but that West never played her the song. The statement said Swift and her team had not known the call was being recorded.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e12kanye-west-taylor-swift-04f4ddcdc9Mon, 15 Feb 2016 12:00:00 +0000Accepting album of the year at the Grammy Awards, Swift told young women that some people would try to undercut their success or take credit for their fame. She did not name West. CBC News reported that many interpreted her words as aimed at West, and Spin described her as seemingly addressing his lyric about her.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e10kanye-west-taylor-swift-ec75cbef8fFri, 12 Feb 2016 12:00:00 +0000In a series of tweets, West said he had not insulted Swift, that he had discussed the line with her in an hour-long call and that she gave her blessing. He also said the idea came from Swift and that his wife had approved.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e11kanye-west-taylor-swift-e0138c9848Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:00:00 +0000A statement for Swift said West had called to ask her to release "Famous" on her Twitter account, not for approval, and that she was never made aware of the actual lyric. It said she declined and warned him about the song's message.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e9kanye-west-taylor-swift-a751cd260dThu, 11 Feb 2016 12:00:00 +0000TheWrap reported that West played his new album, The Life of Pablo, to about 18,000 fans at a fashion event in New York. Its song "Famous" included a sexual reference to Swift and a line saying he had made her famous, using a derogatory word for her.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e7kanye-west-taylor-swift-fed323c0ecSun, 30 Aug 2015 12:00:00 +0000Swift introduced West as the recipient of MTV's Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award. Time and Rolling Stone reported that she called him a friend and echoed his 2009 words in her introduction.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e8kanye-west-taylor-swift-3ee2f5281dSun, 30 Aug 2015 12:00:00 +0000In his acceptance speech, West referred to the interruption six years earlier and asked whether he would have acted the same way had he then had a daughter. In the same speech he said he would run for president in 2020.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e5kanye-west-taylor-swift-969a90bf10Sun, 12 Sep 2010 12:00:00 +0000At the 2010 awards in Los Angeles, Swift performed "Innocent" after a video montage of the 2009 incident. CBS News and AP reported that its lyrics referenced her run-in with West. The reports opened for this page contain no statement from Swift confirming the song's subject.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e6kanye-west-taylor-swift-adbe4f6154Sun, 12 Sep 2010 12:00:00 +0000West closed the 2010 ceremony with a new song. CBS News and AP reported that he did not address the 2009 incident directly, and described the song as mocking boorish behaviour.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e4kanye-west-taylor-swift-1290ec1bd8Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:00:00 +0000Shortly before the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, West posted a long series of tweets about the 2009 incident that ended with an apology to Swift. Access Hollywood reported that he also said he had written a song for her.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e3kanye-west-taylor-swift-9a50b3a122Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:00:00 +0000On The View, Swift said West had not yet reached out to her personally. Representatives of the programme said West called her after the appearance, and Swift then said he had been sincere and she had accepted his apology.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e2kanye-west-taylor-swift-0d1ea541acMon, 14 Sep 2009 12:00:00 +0000West first posted an apology on his blog to Swift, her fans and her mother. On the debut of The Jay Leno Show he said he had been wrong and rude, wanted to apologize to her in person and would take time off.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e0kanye-west-taylor-swift-36fcaf88eaSun, 13 Sep 2009 12:00:00 +0000After Swift won best female video for "You Belong With Me" at the MTV Video Music Awards, West took the microphone and said Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. AP reported that the crowd booed and that West was booed again later in the show.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/kanye-west-taylor-swift/#e1kanye-west-taylor-swift-9cb2ac1587Sun, 13 Sep 2009 12:00:00 +0000According to AP, Beyonce invited Swift back to the stage to finish her speech when Beyonce won video of the year later in the show. Swift said she had never met West and did not want to start anything.