A previously unknown 2016 phone call between Kanye West and Taylor Swift has been leaked online, sparking a backlash. During the call, West asked Swift for permission to use her name in his song “Famous.” When the song was released, Taylor Swift complained about a lyric that called her a “bitch.” Kim Kardashian , Kanye West’s wife, later posted a version of the call, claiming Swift had given her permission for the lyric. The leaked call suggests that West did not inform Swift that he would be using the term. The two musicians have had a rocky relationship since 2009, when the rapper interrupted Swift’s speech after she won the award for best female video at the MTV Music Awards. Specifically, the rapper “grabbed” the microphone from the popular pop singer, saying that Beyoncé ’s music video for “Single Girl Ladies” deserved to win the award more than Swift’s “You Belong With Me.” The incident went viral on the internet through a video showing the singer accepting the award, in which the rapper says: “Taylor Swift, I’ll let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best music videos of all time.” This moment was captured on camera, and memes have been circulating since then, making fun of the incident.
The two artists' relationship had been improving since mid-2010, but the release of "Famous" took a major hit. Kardashian, wanting to support her husband, told GQ Magazine that Swift "fully approved" of the lyric, emphasizing that West always gets permission from someone before mentioning them in a song. Kardashian later posted a version of the call in question, sparking a wave of hate towards Swift, who was shared with snake emojis on social media by people who thought she was being two-faced. Swift responded with a statement saying that the video did not describe things as they actually happened. Specifically, she addressed Kim, saying the following: "Where is the video of Kanye telling me he was going to call me a 'bitch' in his song? It doesn't exist because it never happened." She also pointed out that while she wanted to support Kanye for his new song during the call, she couldn't approve a song without even hearing it. The situation worsened when Kanye West made the snake emoji the theme of his 2018 world tour. The incident also sparked backlash from feminists, among others, about this kind of attack on Swift from West.
Additionally, during Kardashian's version of the call, the pop singer appears to be relieved to hear that the language West would use about her in his song was not offensive. Additionally, Kanye promises Swift to send her song , the exact wording and everything about it, but Taylor Swift's side claims that the rapper never kept that promise.
Swift's fans support her by saying that she is right, while West claims that the approval of the song was implicit. Finally, both Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian commented on the situation by publicly responding to comments from their fans and both posting provocative posts about the "opposing camp."
