When it comes to celebrity clashes, few feuds have had the kind of staying power, or sheer chaos, of Taylor Swift and Kanye West.
What started as an infamous interruption at an awards show ballooned into a tangled web of public fallouts, diss tracks, legal threats, and one of the most dissected relationships in pop culture.
Here’s the complete timeline of how things unfolded, and why this feud still gets talked about years later.
Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West Feud: Full Timeline
September 13, 2009, “Imma Let You Finish” Gate
Let’s start where it all began: the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Taylor Swift, just 19, wins Best Female Video for “You Belong with Me.” As she’s giving her acceptance speech, Kanye storms the stage, grabs the mic, and declares that Beyoncé had “one of the best videos of all time.”
The room falls silent. Taylor is stunned. Beyoncé looks mortified. The internet breaks.
The Aftermath: Apologies and Applause
Kanye gets serious backlash. Even President Obama famously calls him a “jackass.” He apologizes several times, on his blog (yes, that was a thing), in interviews, and reportedly to Taylor directly. Swift, meanwhile, handles it with grace, even penning the song “Innocent,” believed to be about the incident.
2013–2015, A Public Thaw
By 2015, it looked like things were cooling off. Kanye and Taylor were seen laughing together at events. He even said in interviews that they had talked about collaborating. At the 2015 VMAs, Taylor presented Kanye with the Video Vanguard Award and poked fun at the 2009 drama.
Everyone was back on board. Until they weren’t.
February 11, 2016, The “Famous” Fallout
Kanye drops “Famous” with the line: “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b**h famous.”* The backlash is instant. Taylor’s camp says she never approved the lyric.
Kanye insists he got her blessing.
February 15, 2016, Taylor Swift Hits Back
At the Grammys, Taylor accepts Album of the Year for 1989 and fires back without naming names:
“There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success… or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame.”
June 2016, Kim Kardashian Enters the Chat
Kim releases footage from a recorded phone call between Kanye and Taylor, claiming it proves she approved the “Famous” line. #KimExposedTaylorParty trends. Taylor’s reputation takes a hit.
Her response? She claims she never heard the exact lyric “I made that b***h famous.” The footage didn’t include that part.
2017, Taylor Swift Claps Back With Reputation
Taylor disappears from the spotlight and comes back with a vengeance. Her 2017 album Reputation is a direct response to the media storm, filled with themes of betrayal, vengeance, and rebirth.
Songs like “Look What You Made Me Do” and “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” are seen as digs at Kanye and Kim.
March 2020, The Full Call Leaks
The full version of the infamous phone call surfaces. It shows Taylor was never told about the “I made that b***h famous” lyric. Swift fans call it vindication. Even neutral observers admit: Taylor had a point.
Swift posts a message encouraging fans to focus on COVID-19 relief instead of the drama, a subtle flex in itself.
2024–2025, Kanye West Reignites the Fire
Just when it seemed like both had moved on, Kanye goes off on another rant in 2025. He posts vulgar comments about Swift and others, including Justin Bieber and Harry Styles, in an unhinged Twitter tirade.
Swift’s legal team files a cease-and-desist. According to sources, she’d had enough. The new claims weren’t just offensive, they were potentially defamatory.
This isn’t 2009 anymore. Swift isn’t a teenager on a stage, she’s a global powerhouse with billions in revenue and unmatched cultural capital.
The Bigger Picture
What started as a clumsy interruption at an award show grew into something much bigger. This feud isn’t just celebrity gossip, it’s a case study in fame, power, perception, and how public narratives are shaped.
Kanye has always painted himself as the truth-teller, the disruptor. Swift has taken the role of the wronged artist reclaiming her story. The media, and fans, have switched sides more than once.
Now in 2025, their dynamic serves as a reminder of how fast the culture shifts, and how some rivalries refuse to die.
Final Word
The Taylor Swift–Kanye West feud may never reach a neat resolution. But one thing’s for sure: every chapter has shaped how we think about celebrity feuds, creative control, and what happens when two of the biggest names in music collide over and over again.
Stay tuned. With these two, the next act is always just a tweet away.
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