Taylor Swift Gets Last Laugh in Kanye West Feud

Taylor Swift looks likes she is winning in the feud between her and Kanye West, according to social media.

Swift, 34, and the rapper who now goes by Ye, 46, have been embroiled in on-again, off-again drama ever since 2009 when he stormed the MTV VMAs stage to snatch the microphone out of her hands and declared Beyoncé should have won for Best Video by a Female Artist instead.

Later, Ye namechecked Swift in his song "Famous," referring to her in a sexual way and even appeared to be sleeping next to a mannequin that resembled her for the music video.

kanye west and taylor swift
Kayne West (L) jumps onstage as Taylor Swift accepts her award for the "Best Female Video" award during the 2009 MTV Video Music Award on September 13, 2009 in New York City. The pair have... Jeff Kravitz/WireImage

He and ex-wife Kim Kardashian claimed Swift gave the green light for the lyrics, which she denied for years and was later vindicated when a transcript of their call leaked in 2020.

Since then, the musicians have been on very diverging paths. Ye has faced a number of controversies including being banned on Twitter for antisemitic comments. He was dropped from a number of lucrative partnerships, including his work with Adidas on his Yeezy clothing line.

Swift on the other hand has had a stellar 2023, including a world-record breaking world tour which grossed more than $1 billion and single-handedly raised the U.S. economy, according to the Federal Reserve.

A concert movie of her Eras tour broke box office records and she has dominated the Billboard album charts all year. On top of all that, she began dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

In 2023, Swift saw her personal net worth more than double to $1.1 billion, while Ye saw his fall from billionaire status to $400 million, according to Forbes.

This fact was pointed out by a Swift fan account on X, formerly Twitter, which shared a screenshot of their personal fortunes side by side.

"Taylor Swift can now buy Kanye West and still have $700 million for herself," the caption read. A fact check below the post clarified that Swift could not figuratively buy Ye as slavery was abolished in the U.S. in 1865.

The post was also shared to Facebook where people shared their reactions.

"Karma!" wrote one person.

Another added: "Touche Kanye."

Despite Ye falling off Forbes' billionaire list in 2022, he still remained one of the top five entertainers of that year.

Some of his other recent controversies included saying in a 2018 interview with TMZ that "slavery was a choice." Then in 2020 he alleged George Floyd, the Black man murdered at the hands of police, sparking the global Black Lives Matter, actually "died from fentanyl."

At a 2022 Yeezy fashion show, Ye and conservative commentator Candace Owens, along with the catwalk models, wore T-shirts with the slogan "White Lives Matter." The Anti-Defamation League, a group which combats hate, categorizes the phrase as a "hate slogan" used by white supremacist groups.

Later that year, the rapper made a slew of antisemitic comments, including tweeting that he wanted to go "defcon 3" on Jewish people and that he loved Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. He made the comments about Hitler on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' podcast, where he also declared that "Nazis did good things."

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more

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