Kanye West’s “Famous” Song & Music Video Featured Taylor Swift Without Her Permission

West’s Song Included Degrading Lyrics About Swift

In early 2016, Kanye West hosted a listening party at Madison Square Garden for his seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo.

The most talked-about moment of the event was when he premiered his song “Famous,” which included some degrading lyrics about Taylor Swift. West also claimed to be responsible for Swift’s fame and success, since he presumably launched her into the spotlight during the VMAs incident. However, Swift quickly made it clear she did not approve of West’s song.

I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex

Why? I made that b**** famous.

Her brother, Austin Swift, uploaded a video to Instagram of him throwing out his Yeezy sneakers and, during the 2016 Grammys, Swift stood up for herself with her Album of The Year acceptance speech. However, West and his former wife, Kim Kardashian, claimed that Swift had spoken to the rapper on the phone and approved the lyrics. Swift’s publicist Tree Paine said otherwise, insisting West never asked permission, but called Swift asking her to promote the song on her Twitter account.

With only two Taylor’s Versions left to release, Taylor Swift has a tough choice in front of her, but she ought to choose Reputation over Debut.

Paine also said Swift warned West he could receive backlash over the misogynistic message of his lyrics, and she was never made aware that he was going to refer to her as “that b****.” That summer, West released his music video for “Famous.” The video was shot like a sex tape and featured naked wax figures of multiple celebrities, including Swift. To add fuel to the feud, Kardashian even uploaded a photo of herself to Instagram where she was taking a close-up picture of Swift’s naked body. However, Swift wasn’t the only person West targeted in the video.

The rapper made a lot of people angry with his choice to put Bill Cosby in bed, surrounded by women, less than a year after women accused him of sexual misconduct.

West also put Rihanna in bed next to Chris Brown, who notoriously physically abused her about seven years earlier. However, because of the feud, most of the attention was on the Swift wax figure.

Kim Kardashian Recorded & Edited A Phone Call With Taylor Swift

The Incident Became Widely Known As Snapchat-Gat

On July 17th, 2016, the same day a Keeping Up With the Kardashians episode was set to address the drama, Kim Kardashian leaked footage of the Taylor Swift and Kanye West phone call on her Snapchat story. The reality TV star did not release the whole phone call but selected clips that made it seem as though Swift had agreed to the lyrics and was lying the whole time.

Tree Paine stood by her initial claim and Swift put out a statement on social media clarifying that she did not approve of him calling her “that b****.” Swift also made waves with one statement that social media users would mock her for: “I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, one that I have never asked to be a part of, since 2009.”

At the final Eras tour show, Taylor Swift teased the upcoming release of her final two rerecordings, Reputation and Debut Taylor’s Versions.

While Kardashian’s edited footage made her and her former husband look like the good guys, in 2020, right as the world was entering the COVID-19 lockdown, the full phone call leaked. The unedited footage proved Swift was telling the truth the entire time, and the former couple had sabotaged her to clear their names and make her look like the villain. Kardashian put out an Instagram story defending herself, while Swift encouraged people to refocus their attention on donating to help those struggling during the pandemic.

#TaylorSwiftIsOverParty Began Trending & Swift Disappeared From The Public Eye

Swift Escaped Fame For Her Own Well-Being

Unfortunately, before the public knew the truth, Kardashian and West successfully turned them against Swift. At the time, the pop star was on top of the world. 1989 had been her biggest album yet, especially after winning the Grammy for Album of The Year. She was experiencing extreme overexposure and, unfortunately, the public was getting sick of her and waiting for the right moment to knock her down. Kardashian gave them full permission, launching the #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty on Twitter.

The rest of the Kardashian family joined in, pointing out that it was coincidentally National Snake Day. This led to Swift’s Instagram comment section being flooded with Snake emojis. Swift would make a few public appearances later in 2016 and in early 2017, but was mostly absent from the public eye for the next few years. In her 2020 Netflix documentary Miss Americana, she would discuss the impact the incident had on her mental health. She later accused Kardashian of putting her, her family, and her fans “through hell for 4 years.”

Swift was very clear that while the world was celebrating her downfall and Kimye was happy to clear their names, Swift’s mental health was deteriorating. Swift would also admit in her documentary that she disappeared from the public eye for her own well-being and because she thought that was what people wanted.

Taylor Swift Returned With Her Reputation Era 1 Year Later

Swift Went Full Villain Mode For Her Comeback Album

In August 2017, Taylor Swift broke the internet by clearing her profiles across all social media. She would later begin posting a video every few days of a body part of an animal. By the final post, it was clear the video was of a snake. She’d soon announce her reputation album and release its first single, “Look What You Made Me Do.”

At the 2017 VMAs, while Swift was not present, MTV premiered the song’s music video, which mocked all the public scrutiny she’d been through the past year.

The Taylor Swift album release order was complicated by the onset of her Taylor’s Version series, but it represents the artist reclaiming her legacy.

It was clear that Swift would no longer be “playing the victim” as the public had put it, but stepping into her villain era. If Kardashian and West wanted to paint her as evil, then she would fully embrace the new persona.

The snake became the mascot of the era and Swift voiced her perspective on the situation in songs like “I Did Something Bad” and “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.” While she was back in the public eye with her new album, the era was vastly different from what she’d done before.

It was so nice being friends again

There I was giving you a second chance

But you stabbed me in the back while shaking my hand

And therein lies the issue

Friends don’t try and trick you

Get you on the phone and mind-twist you

And so I took an ax to a mended fence

Swift remained mostly private, living in London with her former boyfriend Joe Alwyn and refusing to do any interviews. Instead, if she graced a magazine cover, she would offer a poem in place of an interview.

Since she was dedicated to being in her villain era, Swift didn’t get vulnerable about how badly the situation impacted her until future albums. At the time, she knew no one wanted to hear her sob story, so she forewent any chance to express her sadness.

While The Tortured Poets Department track “Cassandra” could be about Swift’s issues with Scooter Braun, it also seems to point to the Kardashian-West drama.

However, after all the drama, Swift finally saw the good that came from it and penned “thanK you aIMee” on TTPD.

The song not so subtly hides Kardashian’s first name in the title and addresses how what she did to Taylor Swift actually made her a stronger person.