She appeared to confirm there’s still Bad Blood with her long-time frenemy last week, when Taylor Swift released what fans called a “diss track” aimed at a “spray-tanned” bully they say is Kim Kardashian.
On new song thanK you aIMee – which noticeably only capitalises the letters of the reality star’s first name – the 34 year old sings, “All that time you were throwin’ punches, I was buildin’ somethin’, and I can’t forgive the way you made me feel”. Swifties then pointed to a video of Kim’s ten-year-old daughter North West dancing to Taylor’s hit Shake it Off on Tik Tok as evidence for the lyric, “And one day, your kid comes home singin’ a song that only us two is gonna know is about you”.
Now, insiders say Taylor’s highly-publicised swipe – which came on the surprise edition of her new album – has pushed Kim to put an end their 15-year feud. “Kim’s had her fair share of spats over the years, but none have been with a star who wields as much power and global popularity as Taylor, so this has understandably unnerved her. She knows she’s stronger as a brand with Taylor on side,” a source tells heat.
And, we’re told, momager Kris Jenner has echoed these concerns. “Kris has said this feud could have a hugely negative effect on Kim’s brand and cost her millions, not to mention the ramifications it could have on the rest of the family. She’s insisted Kim put an end to it,” our source says.
The insider continues, “Kim knows it’s gone on for too long and, with Taylor being one of the most popular stars in the world, she needs to get her back on side. She’s asked for a meet-up – she wants them to talk face-to-face like two adults, rather than continuing this public mud-slinging.”
The beef goes back to 2009, when Kim’s then husband Kanye West, 46, interrupted Taylor’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video at the VMAs, grabbing the mic from the shocked star and proclaiming Beyoncé should have won.
In 2016 – after the Blank Space singer had denied she gave Kanye permission to use the line, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex”, in his song Famous – Kim stirred things up further by releasing a recording of a phone call between her husband and the star in which Taylor appears to approve the lyric.
Opening up to Time magazine after being crowned 2023 Person Of The Year in December, Taylor slammed reality star Kim, saying, “You have a fully manufactured frame job, in an illegally recorded phone call, which Kim Kardashian edited and then put out to say to everyone that I was a liar. That took me down psychologically to a place I’ve never been before. I moved to a foreign country. I didn’t leave a rental house for a year. I was afraid to get on phone calls. I pushed away most people in my life because I didn’t trust anyone any more. I went down really, really hard.”
Our source says, “Kim regrets a lot of things that happened and wants to prove to Taylor that she’s not the bully she’s made her out to be. She hopes that once she hears her out, she’ll let things lie – and maybe even strike-up a friendship, which would be Kim’s ultimate goal.”
Who else is on Taylor’s hit list?
Joe Alwyn
Having split from Joe Alwyn, 33, after six years, it’s no surprise that new album The Tortured Poet’s Department has a number of heartbreak songs. It’s well known that 2019’s London Boy was an ode to Joe, and in So Long, London, Taylor seems to lament her life with the Brit actor – with the savage line, “I’m pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free…” Also thought to be about Joe is loml, in which Taylor sings about losing a love she thought was forever.
Scooter Braun
In Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?, Taylor takes on her critics, with Swifties thinking this particular song might take a hit at Scooter Braun, 42. Back in 2019, music manager Scooter purchased the rights to Taylor’s music for £243million. Taylor then went on to re-record her first six albums to regain the rights. “You caged me and then you called me crazy. I am what I am ’cause you trained me” she now sings.
Matty Healy
Fans were surprised to see Taylor recall her fling with The 1975’s Matty Healy, 35, on TTPD. The star dubs the band frontman a “tattooed Golden Retriever,” before comparing their romance to a “cyclone.” On the song Fortnight, Taylor hints at a “miracle move-on drug” that helped her get over her heartbreak – with many thinking it refers to the pair’s short-lived post-Joe romance.
And here’s the guy who’s come out of it well…
Of course, it’s only natural that Taylor sprinkled in some hints of her new romance with Travis Kelce, 34 – but unlike her former flames, the NFL star must be listening on repeat. On The Alchemy, Taylor drops football metaphors aplenty including “Where’s the trophy? He just comes running over to me.” In So High School, she gushes like a lovestruck teenager, singing, “You know how to ball, I know Aristotle”.