On the Rihanna-assisted Pablo track "Famous," Kanye raps, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that bitch famous / I made that bitch famous."
West is referring, of course, to the 2009 VMAs when he interrupted Taylor Swift onstage to tell her that Beyoncé had a better music video than her. Yeezy and Swift had since patched things up, or so it was thought, so the lyric arrived out of nowhere.
Taylor Swift's fan base does not let these things happen without stirring up a storm, so they're understandably pissed at Kanye on Twitter. Here's a small sample of Taylor's army, standing up for their queen:
Taylor Swift 170 million records
— bruno (@countryfa) February 12, 2016
Kanye West 88 million records#TaylorSwiftMadeTaylorSwiftFamous pic.twitter.com/7D37h4tcwG
#TaylorSwiftMadeTaylorSwiftFamous @kanyewest this is for you kanye @taylorswift13 pic.twitter.com/W6s69ST28P
— joel (@ts_joel) February 11, 2016
the fact that kanye west thinks that he made taylor swift famous....you literally interrupted her receiving an award...where's your logic
— lauren (@dlphinecormier) February 11, 2016
The list goes on and on, but it's not just Swift fanatics who are defending their pop queen. Taylor's own brother Austin Swift also shared an Instagram video where he tosses some Yeezy Boosts in the trash. At least sell them on eBay, bro!
UPDATE (2/12, 9:30 a.m.): Rumours that Taylor Swift had been given advanced notice of Ye's lyrical bomb-drop and approved the line have been denied by her spokesperson. According to an email [via Jon Caramanica], West reached out asking Swift to promote the song on her Twitter account — which she declined to do. She also "cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message."
UPDATE 2 (2/12, 10:00 a.m.): West has responded to the "Famous" line controversy, insisting that he "did not diss Taylor Swift" and that after having an hour-long conversation about the lyrics with Swift "she thought it was funny and gave her blessings." After defending his use of the word "bitch" as a term of endearment, he goes on to accuse people of demonizing him and compromising his "real art," calling for a return to uncensored expression and fighting back against those trying to "mute the culture." Read his latest barrage of tweets below.
I did not diss Taylor Swift and I've never dissed her…
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 12, 2016
First thing is I'm an artist and as an artist I will express how I feel with no censorship
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 12, 2016
2nd thing I asked my wife for her blessings and she was cool with it
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 12, 2016
3rd thing I called Taylor and had a hour long convo with her about the line and she thought it was funny and gave her blessings
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 12, 2016
4th Bitch is an endearing term in hip hop like the word Nigga
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 12, 2016
5th thing I'm not even gone take credit for the idea… it's actually something Taylor came up with …
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 12, 2016
She was having dinner with one of our friends who's name I will keep out of this and she told him
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 12, 2016
I can't be mad at Kanye because he made me famous! #FACTS
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 12, 2016
6th Stop trying to demonize real artist Stop trying to compromise art
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 12, 2016
That's why music is so fucking watered down right now I miss that DMX feeling
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 12, 2016
7th I miss that feeling so that's what I want to help restore
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 12, 2016
8th They want to control us with money and perception and mute the culture
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 12, 2016
but you can see at Madison Square Garden that you can stop us
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 12, 2016
9th It felt like a seen from The Warriors ALL GODS ALL GODS ALL GODS in the buildin
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 12, 2016
not just the famous people there but the kids the moms the dads the families that came to share this moment with us
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 12, 2016
