Taylor Swift vs Kanye West

The Taylor Swift and Kanye West feud is one of pop culture's longest-running and most complex celebrity conflicts, spanning over 15 years.

2009 MTV Video Music Awards -

The beginning:

The feud started dramatically when Kanye interrupted Taylor's acceptance speech for Best Female Video, taking the microphone to say Beyoncé should have won. Taylor was visibly shocked, and the moment became instantly iconic. Kanye later apologized, and they seemed to reconcile over the following years.

2016 - "Famous" reignites everything:

The conflict exploded again when Kanye released the song "Famous" with a controversial line about Taylor. Kanye claimed he had Taylor's approval for the lyric; Taylor said she never approved that specific wording and was blindsided. At the Grammys, Taylor gave a speech that many interpreted as directed at Kanye.

Then Kim Kardashian (Kanye's wife at the time) released edited clips of a phone call between Kanye and Taylor on Snapchat, suggesting Taylor had approved more than she claimed. Taylor faced massive backlash and largely disappeared from public life for about a year.

2020 - The full phone call leaks:

In 2020, a longer version of the phone call leaked, showing that Taylor's version of events was more accurate than the edited clips suggested. This vindicated her to many fans, though the damage to her reputation had already been done.

Themes and impact:

The feud became about more than just the two artists - it involved questions of misogyny in the music industry, public perception, media manipulation, and how female artists are treated versus their male counterparts. Both artists have referenced the feud in their music and interviews over the years.

As of early 2025, while the active conflict has cooled, the history between them remains one of the most analyzed feuds in modern pop culture.

261.4bn all-time streams (2 Nov '25)

43.2bn all-time streams (2 Nov '25)