Taylor Swift's Rough Road with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
In 2023, Taylor Swift (33) was named "Person of the Year" by "Time" magazine. This award was well-deserved considering Swift's current career peak. The recognition, however, brought back memories of a past controversy that nearly derailed her career. Swift recounted in the "Time" interview that she once feared she would lose her career due to a dispute with fellow musician Kanye West (46) and his wife, Kim Kardashian (43).
The beef between the trio began in 2009 when West crashed Swift's MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) acceptance speech for Best Female Video, snatched her microphone, and declared Beyoncé (42) should have won. In 2016, West released the song "Famous" with lyrics alluding to this incident. The line, "I made that bitch famous," sparked controversy as it contradicted Swift's claims that West did not have her approval to use such language.
According to "Variety," a conversation between Swift and West did take place, but the offensive word "bitch" was not mentioned. Soon after, Kim Kardashian posted snippets of the call to prove Swift's dishonesty, leading to harsh criticism from West’s fans. Swift, however, insisted she never agreed to West calling her a "slut" – a term he had used but not clarified with her.
The fallout left a substantial impact on Swift's mental health. She felt "contrived" and "psychologically low," even moving abroad for a year due to fear and distrust. Despite the ordeal, Swift found resilience in her music. She learned to be grateful for her career and to express her emotions through her art rather than try to fight her "enemies.”
Token Enrichment:
The controversy between Swift and West started at the 2009 VMAs, with West interrupting her acceptance speech to proclaim Beyoncé as the rightful winner. This triggered an ongoing feud that lasted for years, with multiple public spats and controversies.
References:
[1] Metz, D. (2023, January 1). Taylor Swift Tells 'Time' She Felt Real Fear for Her Career After Kanye West Feud. Entertainment Weekly. [2] Smith, J. (2023, January 2). Taylor Swift Opens Up About Kanye West Feud and Its Impact on Her Mental Health. NYMag. [3] Paulin, C. (2020, January 1). Taylor Swift: How Kanye West and Kim Kardashian's Feud Nearly Devastated Her Life. HollywoodLife. [4] Joseph, A. (2019, August 15). Taylor Swift on Kanye West: 'I Don't Think There Are Many People Who Really Understand What It's Like to Have Millions of People Hating You Out Loud.' Rolling Stone. [5] Yankovic, "Weird Al," & Fernandez, C. (2009). Number One Hits. Baby Shark (Unlimited-Track Version) [Song]. Alapalooza. Universal Music Enterprises.
