(Lainey: it’s our policy here at LaineyGossip.com to not post about Kanye West’s wife and her family. It is, however, our policy to post about Taylor Swift whenever and however we can. So, what happens when a story involving Taylor Swift is brought to us by Kanye West’s wife? Well, Kathleen's focusing on Taylor Swift.)
I made that bitch famous
The line is now infamous. One of the most infamous faces on the planet is on the cover of GQ this month. She’s practically naked but this time no one is talking about her body. Instead, we’re talking about her husband, Taylor Swift, and that line, AGAIN.
If it wasn’t already abundantly clear from the gloriousness that is Swoki, this latest feud is proof that Taylor is the gossip gift that keeps on giving. I had to take a break from obsessing over Taylor and Tom when the GQ feature on that Kardashian was released. It’s SO good for one reason only: she goes IN on Taylor Swift. She calls out Taylor for not only knowing about Kanye’s song Famous ahead of its release but also for lying and “play[ing] the victim.” I don’t think I’ve ever liked a Kardashian this much. THIS is really, really good for gossip.
I’m going to rely heavily on direct quotes from the article because it is all almost too good to be true. Here’s what Kanye’s wife says about Taylor’s knowledge of the song:
“She totally knew that that was coming out. She wanted to all of a sudden act like she didn't. I swear, my husband gets so much sh-t for things [when] he really was doing proper protocol and even called to get it approved…What rapper would call a girl that he was rapping a line about to get approval?”
She swears Taylor and Kanye had a phone call about the song and that Taylor was well aware of the explicit lyrics. Supposedly, Taylor even LAUGHED about it.
“I mean, he's called me a bitch in his songs. That's just, like, what they say. I never once think, [gasping] ‘What a derogatory word! How dare he?’ Not in a million years. I don't know why she just, you know, flipped all of a sudden.… It was funny because [on the call with Kanye, Taylor] said, ‘When I get on the Grammy red carpet, all the media is going to think that I'm so against this, and I'll just laugh and say, ‘The joke's on you, guys. I was in on it the whole time.’ And I'm like, wait, but [in] your Grammy speech, you completely dissed my husband just to play the victim again.”
First, I’ll point out that the use of the word “bitch” in hip hop is a more nuanced and complicated conversation than I think Mrs. West has the capacity for but when it comes to the rest of it, I think I actually believe her. I believe that Taylor could have laughed off the lyric but after hearing the song (and the subsequent online backlash) she backpedalled and turned her response into a feminist declaration. When Lainey wrote about Taylor’s Grammy speech, she noted that by taking a jab at Kanye while she was accepting Album of the Year, she invited the association. She linked herself to Kanye forever. Which brings me to Taylor’s official response to the GQ article. Here’s what her rep wrote, in its entirety:
“Taylor does not hold anything against Kim Kardashian as she recognizes the pressure Kim must be under and that she is only repeating what she has been told by Kanye West. However, that does not change the fact that much of what Kim is saying is incorrect. Kanye West and Taylor only spoke once on the phone while she was on vacation with her family in January of 2016 and they have never spoken since. Taylor has never denied that conversation took place. It was on that phone call that Kanye West also asked her to release the song on her Twitter account, which she declined to do. Kanye West never told Taylor he was going to use the term ‘that bitch’ in referencing her. A song cannot be approved if it was never heard. Kanye West never played the song for Taylor Swift. Taylor heard it for the first time when everyone else did and was humiliated. Kim Kardashian's claim that Taylor and her team were aware of being recorded is not true, and Taylor cannot understand why Kanye West, and now Kim Kardashian, will not just leave her alone.”
God, this is too good. OK, let’s start with “Taylor cannot understand why [they] will not just leave her alone.” See Grammy acceptance speech. If Taylor really wanted to be left alone, she shouldn’t have used the biggest platform in music to call out Kanye. Moving on, I love the condescending tone of “she recognizes the pressure Kim must be under.” HA.
So, we’re left with a classic he said/she said. Kanye’s wife swears iconic hip-hop producer Rick Rubin and “so many respected people in the music business” heard Taylor approve the song. She swears the phone call was recorded (because Kanye documents everything, obviously) and that Taylor’s lawyers sent a letter asking them to destroy the footage. I’m not a lawyer but I have seen every episode of The Good Wife so I’m pretty sure if Taylor was recorded without her consent, there’s no way that footage is ever coming out. So, with everything that we know, while I would love to go hard on Team Kanye and I think Taylor is downplaying how much she knew, it may just be a case of broken telephone. GQ diplomatically puts it like this:
Kanye and Taylor (or Kanye and Taylor's rep) may both be telling the truth here—as they see it. Maybe the duo talked “sex” but not “bitch.” Maybe he misinterpreted her noncommittal politeness as implicit accord. Maybe they both hung up pleased they were finally on the same page.
Can someone just ask Rick Rubin what really happened so we can all leave Taylor alone?
