When Kanye West said the words, “Imma let you finish, but …” to Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, he ignited a feud between two of the biggest names in music that has been difficult to truly extinguish. But with Kim Kardashian making moves to hasten the end of her marriage to Ye, it appears she might also be bowing out of the drama she helped perpetuate.
As recently as 2020, Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift were still trading shots (though both begrudgingly at this point) over whether or not Kanye West asked for and got Swift’s approval to reference her in his song “Famous,” off Ye's 2016 album The Life of Pablo. However, when appearing on the Honestly with Bari Weiss podcast, Kardashian was asked what her favorite song by Swift was during a lightning round, and gave this positive (though noncommittal) response:
I really like a lot of her songs. They’re all super cute and catchy. I’d have to look in my phone to get a name.
Wait, what? Did Kim Kardashian just admit to liking Taylor Swift’s music? No shade, no sarcasm? Give me a minute to delete the snake emojis from my phone… Now, one might argue that her not being able to name any specific songs was itself a subtle swipe at the 11-time Grammy winner, but I’m not sure. There are a lot of Swift songs to choose from, and this was a lightning round. Sure, Kardashian was able to name a couple of Kanye West albums off the top of her head, but that whole "being married to each other" thing probably helped there.
It’s also not a surprise, at least to me, that Kim Kardashian would be familiar with Taylor Swift’s music, with with all of those next-generation Kardashian children and their musical parents. I do love the mental image of North West and Penelope Disick rocking out to a playlist that incorporates Taylor Swift tracks with their usual Kanye West and Blink 182.
The whole Kanye West vs. Taylor Swift feud started when Swift won the 2009 MTV VMA for Best Female Video, and Ye took the stage and and the mic to interrupt Swift’s acceptance speech just to say Beyonce should have won. He did apologize to Swift, but later rescinded his apology after she released the song “Innocent,” which referenced the rapper. The two reunited to bury the hatchet at the 2015 VMAs, where Swift presented West with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, but the ceasefire was short-lived.
The Life of Pablo dropped in 2016 with the aforementioned single “Famous,” which included the lyrics, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that bitch famous.” Thus began the back-and-forth about whether or not Kanye West and Taylor Swift had spoken on the phone about the song (they did) and whether or not she cleared the lyric in question.
A few months later Kim Kardashian released video clips of a phone call that appeared to show Kanye West had been telling the truth — he did talk to Taylor Swift, and she gave her approval on the song lyric. But Swift’s people were adamant the full story wasn’t being told, and an unedited version of the call was unveiled in 2020 that in fact seemed to prove that Swift wasn’t told about being referred to as “that bitch,” a point that West’s people hadn’t disputed. Who wouldn't want to end a rivalry that relies on that kind of ammunition?
Both Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift have voiced their desire to move on from the feud, and look, nobody is expecting them to grab coffees or be best friends or anything. But this was definitely a step in the right direction of actually putting it bed once and for all. Be sure to check out our 2022 TV Schedule as we continue to wait on a release date for the Kardashian's upcoming reality series on Hulu.
