Kim Kardashian West accused Taylor Swift of being a liar as the row over the singer’s 2016 phonecall with Kanye West erupted again.
The now infamous call between two of the world’s biggest pop stars caused years of bad blood, with both sides alleging the other lied.
The row centred on West’s song Famous and to what extent Swift was aware of the lyric “I made that bitch famous,” which she later objected to and called “misogynistic”.
West’s wife, Kardashian West, shared a snippet of the conversation on Snapchat in July 2016, which appeared to reveal Swift approving of a portion of the lyric.
A full recording of the 25-minute conversation was apparently leaked on the weekend. Swift said on Monday it proved she had been telling the truth.
In an incendiary Instagram Story post, Swift accused the Wests of illegally recording the call, editing it and manipulating the footage to “frame” her, then putting “me, my family, and fans through hell for 4 years”.
Swift, 30, then directed fans to a charity feeding those in need during the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, Kardashian West has hit back on Twitter, accusing Swift of reigniting an old exchange, saying the timing “feels very self-serving given the suffering millions of real victims are facing right now”.
.@taylorswift13 has chosen to reignite an old exchange – that at this point in time feels very self-serving given the suffering millions of real victims are facing right now.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) March 24, 2020
I didn’t feel the need to comment a few days ago, and I’m actually really embarrassed and mortified to be doing it right now, but because she continues to speak on it, I feel I’m left without a choice but to respond because she is actually lying.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) March 24, 2020
To be clear, the only issue I ever had around the situation was that Taylor lied through her publicist who stated that “Kanye never called to ask for permission…” They clearly spoke so I let you all see that. Nobody ever denied the word “bitch” was used without her permission.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) March 24, 2020
She then accused Swift of being a liar, adding: “I didn’t feel the need to comment a few days ago, and I’m actually really embarrassed and mortified to be doing it right now, but because she continues to speak on it, I feel I’m left without a choice but to respond because she is actually lying.”
Addressing the initial row over the Famous lyrics, Kardashian West said her only issue was a statement from Swift’s publicist which stated: “Kanye did not call for approval, but to ask Taylor to release his single Famous on her Twitter account.”
The statement added: “Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric, ‘I made that bitch famous.’”
Tweeting on Monday, Kardashian West, who married rapper West in 2014, said no-one had denied the word “bitch” was used without Swift’s permission.
At the time when they spoke the song had not been fully written yet, but as everyone can see in the video, she manipulated the truth of their actual conversation in her statement when her team said she
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) March 24, 2020
She added: “At the time when they spoke the song had not been fully written yet, but as everyone can see in the video, she manipulated the truth of their actual conversation in her statement when her team said she ‘declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message.’
“The lie was never about the word bitch, It was always whether there was a call or not and the tone of the conversation.”
Kardashian West, one of the world’s most successful reality TV stars who has now become a criminal justice campaigner, denied Swift’s claim she had edited the footage she shared on Snapchat.
“The full video that recently leaked doesn’t change the narrative,” Kardashian West added.
She also defended West for recording the call, saying he documents the production of each of his albums.
Kardashian West compared it to Swift’s recent Netflix documentary, Miss Americana.
To add, Kanye as an artist has every right to document his musical journey and process, just like she recently did through her documentary.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) March 24, 2020
Kanye has documented the making of all of his albums for his personal archive, however has never released any of it for public consumption & the call between the two of them would have remained private or would have gone in the trash had she not lied & forced me to defend him.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) March 24, 2020
She said: “Kanye has documented the making of all of his albums for his personal archive, however has never released any of it for public consumption & the call between the two of them would have remained private or would have gone in the trash had she not lied & forced me to defend him.”
She then promised it would be the last time she speaks on the row, saying: “Sorry to bore you all with this. I know you are all dealing with more serious and important matters.”
This will be the last time I speak on this because honestly, nobody cares.
Sorry to bore you all with this. I know you are all dealing with more serious and important matters.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) March 24, 2020
Swift and West have been involved in one of the most high-profile feuds in modern pop music. It was triggered by West interrupting the then 19-year-old Swift on stage at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, where she had won the prize for best female video.
He told a stunned Swift “Imma let you finish” but “Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time”.
The moment has gone down as one of the most quoted in awards show history. It led to years of ill-feeling between two of the world’s biggest pop stars.
On 2016 song Famous from the album The Life Of Pablo , West rapped: “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that bitch famous.”
During the phone call, Swift reminded West that before the VMAs incident she had already sold seven million copies of her album Fearless.