Kanye West and Kim Kardashian: An extensive timeline of their feud with Taylor Swift

From “I’ma let you finish” at the VMAs to Famous

Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Taylor Swift

by Nathan Katnoria |
Updated on

Kanye West and wife Kim Kardashian’s feud with pop megastar Taylor Swift erupted once again last weekend when the recording of their infamous phone call about his song Famous leaked in full, four years after it all kicked off in the first place.

Kim has since broken her silence to blast Taylor as “lying” and “self-serving” in a furious Twitter rant, while the Shake It Off singer has taken the high road and refused to bite back at the reality star.

Taylor Swift, Jay Z, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
TayTay and KimYe (and Jay Z) in happier times ©Getty

Even their showbiz mates are getting involved, with The Greatest Dancer star Todrick Hallwho’s recently become BFFs with Cheryl – leaping to the defence of his close pal Taylor and swiping at “self-obsessed” and “entitled” Kim in the process.

With their feud still rearing it’s ugly head in 2020 it’s easy to forget this all started over a decade ago when Kanye infamously interrupted Taylor’s acceptance speech for Video of the Year at the 2009 MTV VMAs, so we’ve put together an extensive timeline of their beef from the very start.

Relieve Kayne West and Kim Kardashian's feud with Taylor Swift from where it all began...

Gallery

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's feud with Taylor Swift timeline (stacked)

Kanye West and Taylor Swift at MTV VMAs 20091 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

September 2009

Ah, the fateful moment where it all began. Taylor Swift, then 19, was accepting the Best Female Video award at the MTV VMAs when Kanye West jumped on stage to insist Beyoncé, who looked horrified in the audience, should have won the award."Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you and I'ma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!" shouted Kanye as poor Taylor seemed on the verge of tears.

Taylor Swift and Kanye West2 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

September 2009

After criticism from the likes of Katy Perry and Barack Obama (who branded him a jackass), Kanye calls Taylor to issue a personal apology."He was very sincere in his apology, and I accepted that apology," she says after their conversation.

Taylor Swift3 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

September 2010

Marking exactly one year since Kanye's stage invasion, Taylor performs her song Innocent at the 2010 MTV VMAs. She sings the lyrics, "What you are is not what you did. You are still an innocent," which many take as a subtle dig at the rapper.Kanye later backtracks on his apology and claims Taylor is exploiting the incident for publicity.

Taylor Swift at the Met Gala 20114 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

May 2011

Taylor and Kanye appear to have buried the hatchet after they're spotted high fiving each other at the Met Gala.

Taylor Swift, Rita Ora and Kim Kardashian5 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

November 2012

Just weeks after Kanye proposes on her 33rd birthday, Kim Kardashian parties at the MTV EMAs in Frankfurt, Germany with Taylor and Rita Ora, who was dating her brother Rob at the time.

Kanye West6 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

June 2013

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Kanye does a full 180 on his apology to Taylor and admits he only said sorry due to peer pressure. He tells the magazine he "doesn't have one regret" about the 2009 VMAs incident. Savage.

Taylor Swift, Kayne West and Kim Kardashian7 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

February 2015

Oh, how times have changed. Kanye and Taylor's relationship has never been better and they put on a very public display of friendship at the Grammys, where they pose for several photos with Kim and Jay Z.There's even talk of a collaboration between the pair, with Kanye telling radio host Ryan Seacrest, "She wants to get in the studio and we're definitely going to go in."

Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West8 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

February 2015

KimYe and Taylor are reunited just two weeks later at the BRIT Awards where Kanye debuts his track All Day. New BFFs Kim and Taylor are spotted dancing together during the performance.

Kanye West and Taylor Swift at MTV VMAs 20159 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

August 2015

Things come full circle for Kanye and Taylor at the MTV VMAs 2015 when she presents him with the prestigious Video Vanguard Award, six years after the initial incident.

Kanye West10 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

February 2016

Just when things were going well, Kanye drops seventh album The Life of Pablo which features the Taylor-referencing track Famous."I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that b---h famous," he raps on the controversial track.

Taylor Swift and Kanye West11 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

February 2016

Kanye claims Taylor approved the song and "gave her blessings" to the lyrics that reference her.This is immediately denied in a statement released by her representatives. They say, "Kanye did not call for approval, but to ask Taylor to release his single 'Famous' on her Twitter account. She declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message. Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric, 'I made that b---h famous'."

Taylor Swift Grammys 201612 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

February 2016

Days later, Taylor wins three awards at the Grammys. During her acceptance speech for Album of the Year, she throws major shade at Kanye.She says, "As the first woman to win Album of the Year at the Grammys twice, I want to say to all the young women out there—there are going to be people along the way who are going to try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame."But if you just focus on the work and you don't let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you're going, you'll look around and you will know that it was you and the people who love you who put you there. And that will be greatest feeling in the world."

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West13 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

June 2016

Until now Kanye and Taylor have kept the beef between them but Kim wades in to defend her husband in an interview with GQ."She totally approved that," Kim said about those Famous lyrics. "She wanted to all of a sudden act like she didn't. I swear, my husband gets so much s--t for things [when] he really was doing proper protocol and even called to get it approved."The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star even claims she has receipts after revealing Kanye's phone call with Taylor had been recorded on camera.

Kanye West Famous video14 of 22
CREDIT: YouTube

June 2016

As if his contentious lyrics weren't enough, Kanye adds even more fuel to the fire with the NSFW video for Famous which depicts an extremely lifelike waxwork of Taylor naked in bed next to him and Kim.

Kim Kardashian15 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

July 2016

Kim drops a massive bombshell by releasing a secret recording of Kanye's phone call with Taylor on her Snapchat.The Shake It Off singer can be heard thanking Kanye for "giving her the heads up" about the lyrics and the pair go back and forth about the "respect" they have for each other.After fans praise Kim for "exposing" Taylor, she shades the pop star by tweeting a series of snake emojis.

Taylor Swift tweet16 of 22
CREDIT: Twitter/@taylorswift13

July 2016

Taylor defends herself in a statement on Twitter, denying that Kanye ever told her he would call her a "b---h" in the song. In a move that births a series of hilarious memes, she asks "to be excluded from this narrative" of the feud.

Taylor Swift Look What You Made Me Do video17 of 22
CREDIT: YouTube

August 2017

After deleting all of her social media posts, TayTay begins sharing videos of snakes. Surely a reference Kim's infamous tweet, right?She later drops new single Look What You Made Me Do, which fans think makes some not so subtle hints at KimYe. "I don't like your little games, don't like your tilted stage. The role you made me play, of the fool, no, I don't like you," sings Taylor.She's never confirmed the meaning behind the lyrics but Kanye performed on a titled stage during his Saint Pablo tour so it's not hard to work out who Taylor could be singing about.

Kim Kardashian18 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

February 2018

To celebrate the launch of her Kimoji Hearts fragrances, Kim reveals she's gifting bottles of the scent to a number of famous faces, including Taylor Swift. In an Instagram video, she reveals she's even sending a gift to her "haters".In the video, Taylor is grouped with names including Piers Morgan, Bette Midler and Blac Chyna - all of whom have publicly feuded with Kim. Not very cryptic, hun.

Taylor Swift Reputation tour19 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

March 2019

Taylor reignites the feud by branding Kim and Kanye "bullies" in an interview with Elle magazine.She says, "In my experience, I've come to see that bullies want to be feared and taken seriously. A few years ago, someone started an online hate campaign by calling me a snake on the internet. The fact that so many people jumped on board with it led me to feeling lower than I've ever felt in my life."She also shares how she reclaimed Kim's snake comparison by performing with a giant inflatable snaked named Karyn on her Reputation tour. "It's the stadium tour equivalent of responding to a troll's hateful Instagram comment with 'lol'," she adds.

Taylor Swift20 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

August 2019

10 years on from where it all began, Taylor admits her life felt "out of control" in the wake of her feud with Kim and Kanye.Opening up about being "cancelled" after Kim exposed her phone call with Kanye, Taylor tells Vogue, "I don't think there are that many people who can actually understand what it's like to have millions of people hate you very loudly. When you say someone is cancelled, it's not a TV show."

Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Taylor Swift21 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

March 2020

It's been almost a full year since we've heard from them so surely Kim and Kanye have buried the hatchet with Taylor, right? WRONG.Their feud erupts once again in spectacular fashion after the full phone call between Kanye and Taylor is leaked, four years after Kim released footage on Snapchat, and it appears to vindicate T's claims she didn't approve his "b---h" lyric. Her fans soon get #KanyeWestIsOverParty trending on Twitter.

Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift22 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

March 2020

After liking a fan's tweet throwing shade at Taylor, Kim breaks her silence on the leak in a furious rant branding her "lying" and "self-serving".Rather than hit back at Kim, Taylor asks for fans to donate to charity Feeding America amid the coronavirus pandemic. She can't help but insisting the leak proves she was "telling the truth the whole time" though.

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As one pop feud rages on, it looks like another is coming to an end as Nadine Coyle has revealed she's patched things up with Girls Aloud bandmate Cheryl.

The pair have found themselves at the forefront of 'feud' talk for almost two decades, but with rumours swirling the band could reunite for their 20th anniversary in 2022, Nadine says she's now on "cordial" terms with the mum-of-one.

She told OK! magazine, "Cheryl emailed me recently and I bumped into Kimberley [Walsh] a few weeks ago as well, which was lovely.

"I haven’t seen Sarah [Harding] or Nicola in a long time, but everything remains very cordial.

"We’re not best mates, it’s just the way it’s always been. I’m very close to a lot of people from my time in the band, like our hair and make-up people and the dancers, but you gravitate towards the people that you have stuff in common with."

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