The Truth Behind Kimye's Feud With Taylor Swift

When Swift beat out Beyoncé for best female video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, it didn't sit well with the admittedly inebriated West. Yeezy stormed the stage, took the mic, and told Swift (and the world), "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you and I'mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!" Swift was horrified. West was booed. Queen Bey later invited Swift onto the stage to give the acceptance speech she had so rudely been denied.

Taylor Swift gave a slew of interviews about the incident, despite claiming she didn't want to talk about it or make it a big deal. A few weeks after the award show, she appeared on The View, where she insisted that she was upset because of the fans, you guys! "My overall thought process went something like, 'Wow, I can't believe I won!'...I'm going to get to thank the fans, this is so cool—oh, Kanye West is here. Cool haircut. What are you doing there? And then, ouch. And then, I guess I'm not going to get to thank the fans.'" She added, "I'm not going to say I wasn't rattled by it" and claimed West had not made any efforts to apologize to her.

On that same day, however, Swift told ABC News, "Kanye did call me and he was very sincere in his apology, and I accepted that apology." She also agreed that the situation was done and everyone was pretty happy. When asked if everything would be okay between them in the future, Swift said, "Yah! Definitely!"

At the VMAs in September 2010, Swift performed her new song, "Innocent," barefoot on stage. The track was inspired by her experience with West. "I think a lot of people expected me to write a song about him," she told New York magazine. "But for me it was important to write a song to him."

Lyrics include: "Wasn't it beautiful runnin' wild 'til you fell asleep / Before the monsters caught up to you?...It's okay, life is a tough crowd / 32, and still growin' up now / Who you are is not what you did. You're still an innocent." According to the magazine, some viewed the song "as deeply sympathetic toward West; others as patronizing in its sympathy."

When Swift released her album, Speak Now, a month later, there was a message in the liner notes of "Innocent" that read, "Life is full of little interruptions" (via BuzzFeed).

An October 2012 Rolling Stone cover story revealed that Swift kept a framed photo of the infamous VMA incident in her Nashville condo. The frame is engraved with "Life is full of little interruptions," the same message she hid in the liner notes of Speak Now.

In July 2013, Swift tweeted, "Two VMA nominations!! If you vote and get us one, I promise to keep a firmer grip on the mic this time" (via Bustle). Just like that, the old grudge was back in the headlines.

The next day, Gawker published some so-called "secret" audio allegedly recorded at a restaurant immediately after those 2009 VMAs. In the "leaked" recording, West passionately justifies his actions, barking, "Taylor Swift cannot beat Beyoncé! As long as I'm alive!" Coincidental timing?

A month later, singer Ed Sheeran posted a photo of a gift from Swift on his Instagram. The present was a jar of homemade jam, and the label read, "Yo Ed—I'm really happy 4 you and I'm gonna let u finish, but this is the best jam of all time. —T"

On February 11, 2016, West debuted his song "Famous" during a Madison Square Garden performance. The song's lyrics include this line: "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b— famous." West insisted that Swift approved of the song, which she denied. Swift's team fired off a statement that said, "Kanye did not call for approval, but to ask Taylor to release his single 'Famous' on her Twitter account...She declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message. Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric."

Days later, Swift allegedly took a swipe at West while accepting the Grammy for album of the year, saying, "There will be people along the way that will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame."

In June 2016, West dropped the video for "Famous," which featured a nude Swift lookalike in bed with the rapper and several other celebrities. Swift never commented on the video. She was too busy canoodling around the world with her brand new beau, Thor star Tom Hiddleston. Some gossipers even went so far as to speculate that Swift's public displays of affection were a ploy to divert attention from the Kimye debacle.

In a lengthy Instagram post on July 18, 2016, Taylor Swift defended herself by drawing attention to the specifics of that controversial Snapchat clip. "Where is the video of Kanye telling me he was going to call me 'that b—' in his song? It doesn't exist because it never happened. You don't get to control someone's emotional response to being called 'that b—' in front of the entire world," she wrote (via Entertainment Tonight). "Of course I wanted to like the song. I wanted to believe Kanye when he told me that I would love the song. I wanted us to have a friendly relationship. He promised to play the song for me, but he never did. While I wanted to be supportive of Kanye on the phone call, you cannot 'approve' a song you haven't heard. Being falsely painted as a liar when I was never given the full story or played any part of the song is character assassination."

Swift reportedly threatened criminal action against Kanye West back in February 2016 for secretly recording that phone call. According to TMZ, Swift's lawyer sent a letter that read, "Demand is hereby made that you immediately destroy all such recordings, provide us of assurance that this has been done, and also assurance that these recordings have not been previously disseminated."

Brace yourselves, everyone. The celebrity battle between Taylor Swift and Kimye is showing no signs of a ceasefire.