Kanye West and Taylor Swift's unedited phone call leaked and it's proof she didn't lie about 'Famous'
The seemingly never-ending saga between Kanye West and Taylor Swift continues. This time, it appears the tide is swaying in Swift's favour.
In 2016, the entertainment world was abuzz and many were clamouring to 'spill the tea' on what was going on between West and Swift. West's song 'Famous', released in April 2016, infamously included the lyrics "For all my Southside n****s that know me best / I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b***h famous (God damn) / I made that b***h famous."
The lyrics were called out by many who felt they were misogynistic, to say the least. Swift was already a top-selling award-winning artist and a household name by that point and many felt like West was trying to take credit for her success, something men have been doing to their female counterparts for centuries.
But this beef, as well as the fame West is implying he bestowed upon Swift goes further back to 2009 when West stormed onto the stage as Swift accepted her award for 'Best Video by a Female Artist' and said the now infamous words, "I’mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!" The incident became such a culturally defining moment and painted West as a villain and Swift as a victim — roles they have since gone on to embody completely as far as public perception goes.
So when West dropped 'Famous', it was no surprise that Swift released a statement denouncing the lyrics. West claimed he had her approval for the lyrics and Swift responded by stating that while she did approve the first part of the lyric — "For all my Southside n****s that know me best / I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex" — she was never informed of the second part which refers to her as a 'b***h'.
Months later, West's wife and reality TV star Kim Kardashian released a part of a video that seemingly confirmed West's claim that Swift was contacted via phone call for approval on the lyrics and gave West the go-ahead. Kardashian went a step further and branded Swift a 'snake'. This essentially spearheaded a campaign maligning the country-pop singer which resulted in a whole lot of 'Taylor Swift is over' tweets in what is considered by many as the earliest days of Twitter's cancel culture.
Swift followed the drama up with the release of her album 'Reputation' in 2017 which takes direct shots at those who tried to drag her down. Many found the release inspiring since it also documents how the singer had to put up with harsh criticisms and the attempts to 'cancel' her.
Fast-forward to today, and it turns out the singer was telling the truth all along.
In a newly-leaked video clip released via two tweets, West can be heard rapping the controversial lyrics of 'Famous' to Swift and getting her approval for them, but he leaves out the second part, just as Swift had previously claimed. She also states she is uncomfortable participating in the promotions for the song, which West asks her to do.
After hearing the lyrics, Swift appears to laugh nervously before saying "That's not mean." West goes on to say that she has "an army", referring to her fanbase, and stating this is why he wants her to approve the lyrics so that listeners would also be on board with it. Swift responds, "I need to think about it...because it is absolutely crazy. I'm glad it's not mean though," adding, "the build-up you gave it I thought it was gonna be like 'that stupid dumb b***h', but it's not." However, West makes no attempt to inform her that her worries were, in fact, well-grounded.
The tweet including the video reads, "KIM K AND KANYE AND THE MOST DESPICABLE, GROSS AND MANIPULATIVE PEOPLE IN THE INDUSTRY THEY LIED ABOUT TAYLOR SWIFT IN 2016 AND THIS THREAD OF THE LEAKED PHONE CONVERSATION WILL SHOW YOU THAT."
A follow-up tweet features the second part of the video and adds, "She's clearly uncomfortable af with him saying she owes him sex and tells him she will think about it and let him know if she's okay with it. And ALSO tells him that she wouldn't like if he'd called her a b***h. And he never once mentions 'i made that b*tch famous' line to her (sic)."
He did, however, give Swift a needlessly long preface around the lyrics, stating his collaborators and wife all loved it and that it was going into Eminem territory — another rapper known for constantly attacking fellow female artists via his music. He is even heard asking Swift to "brace" herself for what's coming before he finally raps only the first part of the lyrics.
West and Kardashian have already been at the receiving end of some negative publicity, especially because of the former's endorsement of Trump. But with this new information being leaked, the hashtags #TaylorToldTheTruth, #KanyeWestIsOverParty and #Kanyewestisover have begun trending with many calling out the couple for bullying a young artist who had just begun to find her footing in the industry.
Another tweet from the user who posted the video reads, "The way taylor knew that she was on the verge of overexposure and that the media was already taking hits at her for no reason and kim and kanye manipulated the situation in THEIR favour by illegally recording the phone conversation and posting the EDITED clips is so gross..." which sums up why many are outraged at this recent reveal.