American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and American rapper Kanye West have been involved in highly publicized disputes since September 2009, when Swift won the MTV Video Music Award (VMA) for Best Female Video for "You Belong With Me" (2009) at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, and West interrupted her acceptance speech. The feud between Swift and West has been described as one of the music industry's most infamous and has been the subject of widespread coverage and debate.
When West interrupted Swift's speech, he took the microphone and claimed that Beyoncé's music video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (2008) is one of the greatest videos of all time. Swift left the stage amidst booing, which she thought was aimed at her. Later in the evening, Beyoncé invited Swift to complete her speech after winning Video of the Year for "Single Ladies". West was widely criticized on television and media outlets, and he later apologized and recanted multiple times. Critics interpreted Swift's 2010 song "Innocent" as sympathizing with West. The two eventually became amicable over the years. Swift presented West with the Video Vanguard Award at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards and parodied the 2009 incident. West, who had personally asked Swift to present the award, implied in his acceptance speech that MTV had her present the award to him to increase the show's viewership, which upset Swift.
In 2016, West released the single "Famous", in which he referred to Swift as a "bitch" that he made famous. Swift protested the pejorative but West claimed he obtained prior approval of the lyrics from Swift, which she denied. The music video for "Famous" showcased naked wax sculptures of Swift amongst other celebrities; Swift stated she did not consent to it, calling it "revenge porn". Kim Kardashian, who was West's wife at the time, released trimmed video clips of a phone conversation which appeared to show Swift approving the lyrics, following which Swift was widely criticized on various media. In 2017, after a social media blackout, Swift responded with the single "Look What You Made Me Do" from her album Reputation, which was partly inspired by the negative press she received. The track "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" also appeared to diss West.
The full video recording of the phone call between West and Swift leaked online in 2020, revealing Swift had approved to be name-dropped but was not informed about the lyrics and the pejorative used, and that Kardashian has edited the clip favorably. In 2024, West and Ty Dolla Sign released the single "Carnival", which contained sexually suggestive lyrics about Swift, and the track "Lifestyle", which referenced Swift and her husband, Travis Kelce. Swift also aimed at Kardashian in the track "Thank You Aimee" (2024). Throughout the 2020s, West made several claims about Swift, sometimes derogatory, on Instagram and Twitter (X).
History 2009–10: Initial controversy and apology 2009 MTV Video Music Awards
On September 13, 2009, Swift and West separately attended the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Swift subsequently won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video for her song "You Belong With Me", becoming the first country singer to do so. At age 19, Swift was also one of the youngest artists to win an MTV Video Music Award. While Swift was delivering her acceptance speech, West, who was in the audience, climbed the stage, interrupted her, and took the microphone. He then declared, "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!" Beyoncé's song "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" had also been nominated for the Best Female Video Award. While West was talking, the audience began booing, which Swift thought was aimed at her. Following West's declaration, Swift left the stage looking upset. Swift's then-boyfriend, Taylor Lautner, had presented the award to her and later revealed that he thought West's interruption was a rehearsed skit.
Shortly after the interruption, Swift performed "You Belong With Me" for the VMAs audience. Later that evening, Beyoncé won the Video of the Year Award and invited Swift on stage to finish her speech. After the ceremony, Swift was interviewed by reporters. She told them "I was standing on stage and I was really excited because I'd just won the award and then I was really excited because Kanye West was on stage... And then I wasn't excited anymore after that." They then asked if she was a fan of West prior to the incident; she stated that she was. The incident led to Internet photo memes using the phrase "I'mma let you finish". The media and people on the Internet began referring to the incident as "Kanye-gate". West's actions were met with widespread criticism. TMZ released a recording of the then-President of the United States, Barack Obama, calling West a "jackass" and saying the incident was "inappropriate". The audio was recorded immediately before Obama began a television interview with CNBC. Before the VMAs broadcast had finished, West posted an apology on his blog, saying he was wrong, that he would apologize to Swift, and that Beyoncé had the best video of the decade.
The day after the VMAs, West made a pre-planned appearance on The Jay Leno Show, though the interview portion of his appearance was not previously planned. He apologized to Swift, stating "It's been extremely difficult. I'm just dealing with the fact that I hurt someone or took anything away [...] from a talented artist or from anyone, 'cause I only wanted to help people [...] I immediately knew in this situation that it was wrong [...] It's actually someone's emotions that I stepped on and it was very, it was just, it was rude, period. And [...] I'd like to be able to apologize to her in person." On September 15, 2009, Swift appeared on The View, explaining that West had still not called her personally to apologize. During her interview, Swift stated "I'm not going to say I wasn't rattled by it. I had to perform live five minutes later, so I had to get myself back to the place where I could perform... All the other artists who showed me love in the hours following that, I just never imagined there were that many people out there looking out for me." Following the episode, The View released a statement saying, West "spoke personally to the country music superstar via telephone and has apologized to the 19-year-old singer. She has accepted Mr. West's apology. The contents of the phone call are to remain private." Swift told ABC News Radio that West "was very sincere in his apology and I accepted that apology." That same year, Kim Kardashian, who would later become involved in the feud, told reporters that her favorite song was Swift's "Love Story".
On November 7, 2009, Swift hosted Saturday Night Live. Swift wrote her own opening monologue, joking about the incident. In what she titled the "Monologue Song (La La La)", Swift strummed her acoustic guitar and sang, "You might think I might say/ something bad about Kanye/ and how he ran up on the stage and ruined my VMA monologue/ but there's nothing more to say/ because everything's okay/ I’ve got security lining the stage." Following this line, Bill Hader and Jason Sudeikis appeared behind her, dressed as security guards and holding up a facial composite drawing of West. At the conclusion of the monologue, Swift said "We have a great show. Kanye West is not here!"
"Innocent"
In early September 2010, West again apologized on Twitter for his comments about Swift in a series of tweets. He then said that he had written a song for Swift, before subsequently deleting his Twitter account. On September 12, 2010, Swift debuted her new single "Innocent" during a performance at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance began by playing footage of West interrupting Swift at the 2009 ceremony. Swift then started singing the chorus, which contained the lyrics, "It's all right/ Just wait and see/ Your string of lights is still bright to me/ Who you are is not where you've been/ You're still an innocent/ It's OK/ Life is a tough crowd/ 32 and still growing up now." West was 32 years old at the 2009 VMAs. Some felt that the song was deeply sympathetic toward West, while others felt it was patronizing. Others criticized Swift as playing the victim of the angry black man. A critic at the Los Angeles Times called the lyrics "slams disguised as 'forgiveness. Swift had written the song between February and June 2010, with Swift stating the track took her longer to write than most of her other songs. The song was officially released on October 25, 2010, as part of her studio album Speak Now.
Also in October 2010, West appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, claiming that after the 2009 VMAs controversy he had left the country to live overseas for a while. He told DeGeneres, "I feel in some ways I'm a soldier of culture. And I realize no one wants that to be my job. I'll never go onstage again, I'll never sit at an awards show again, but will I feel conflicted about things that meant something to culture that constantly get denied for years and years and years? I'm sorry, I will. I cannot lie about it in order to sell records." West said the incident was the result of "sincerity and alcohol". On October 23, "See Me Again", an unreleased song by West, leaked online. Journalists interpreted the lyrics, which feature vocals heavily processed through Auto-Tune, as West discussing the aftermath of the VMAs controversy.
2011–early 2015: Favorable relationship In March 2012, Swift appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar Australia, wearing a shirt from West's clothing line. During this time, the two were on good terms and would occasionally go to dinner together.
On June 11, 2013, West was promoting his sixth studio album, Yeezus, and discussed the VMAs controversy with The New York Times. He stated that he did not have any regrets about interrupting Swift. West claimed that his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), was a "backhanded apology" and that he had fallen to "peer pressure", which many interpreted as West rescinding his 2009 apology. In August 2013, Swift gifted a jar of homemade jam to her friend Ed Sheeran. Sheeran posted a photo of the jar, on which Swift had written "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 8, 2015, at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, West and Swift posed together for photographs on the red carpet. In an interview with Ryan Seacrest, West revealed that after Beck won the award for Album of the Year over Beyoncé, Swift approached West and jokingly told him that he should have gone on stage. West also stated that he wanted to record music with Swift. In August 2015, Swift appeared on the September issue of Vanity Fair. In the magazine, Swift stated that she and West had become friends, citing assistance from their mutual friend, rapper Jay-Z, the husband of Beyoncé. She stated that there was no plan to collaborate musically, but that she "like[d] him as a person".
Late 2015–20: Feud is reignited 2015 MTV Video Music Awards