The Real Reason Taylor Swift Can't Stand Kim Kardashian

When Taylor Swift sings the lyrics, "And snakes and stones never broke my bones," in her song "You Need to Calm Down," it's quite possible that she's talking about Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. Swift and Kardashian's feud has been going on for years, but it really all began when Kardashian's husband, West, literally stole the spotlight from Swift during the 2009 VMAs.

After Swift won the award for Best Female Video for "You Belong With Me" — she took home the award over Beyoncé — West stepped in and told the audience (per Rolling Stone), "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'll let you finish, but Beyoncé has one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!" Afterward, Swift was in complete shock over the ordeal, and rightfully so.

"At the time, I didn't know that [the audience] were booing him ... I thought they were booing me," Swift said in her 2020 documentary, Miss Americana, per Vogue. "For someone who's build their whole belief system on getting people to clap for you, the whole crowd booing is a pretty formative experience."

However, the two seemed to bury the hatchet in 2015 when they posed for photos at the Grammys. Additionally, the same year, Swift presented West with the Video Vanguard Award at the VMAs. But Swift and Kardashian's feud would soon escalate after West dropped his song "Famous" in 2016. 

So, why can't Swift stand Kardashian? Keep reading to find out. 

In 2016, Kanye West released "Famous," which made headlines after he made a controversial statement about Taylor Swift. "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b**ch famous," West raps in the song.

At the time, sources told TMZ that West had called Swift to "explain it was a joke and wanted to make sure she wouldn't be upset" before the tune was released. However, Swift's rep told People that West "did not call for approval" and, instead, asked her "to release his single 'Famous' on her Twitter account." Swift's rep added, "Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric, 'I made that b**ch famous.'" 

Of course, Kardashian couldn't help but insert herself into the narrative and took the time to call out Swift. "She totally knew that that was coming out," the reality star told GQ in June 2016, alleging that Swift was aware of the "Famous" lyrics all along. "She wanted to all of a sudden act like she didn't." Kardashian added that Swift "totally gave the okay."

In July 2016, Kardashian wanted to expose Swift, so she decided to post the conversation between West and the pop star on Snapchat. "Go with whatever line you think is better," Swift told West in the clip about the lyrics (via PopSugar). "It's obviously very tongue in cheek either way. And I really appreciate you telling me about it, that's really nice!"

While on her Reputation tour in 2018, Taylor Swift spoke to her fans at her concert in Glendale, Ariz., where she seemingly opened up about the Kanye West and Kim Kardashian drama. "A couple of years ago, someone called me a snake on social media, and it caught on," she said (via Time), more than likely referring to when Kardashian spoke about "National Snake Day" on Twitter in 2016. 

Despite the ups and the downs, Swift came out on the other side. "I went through some times when I didn't know if I was going to get to do this anymore," she continued. "I wanted to send a message to you guys that if someone uses name-calling to bully you on social media, and even if a lot of people jump on board with it, that doesn't have to beat you. It can strengthen you instead."

Another silver lining? Swift was able to turn the difficult situation into art, which helped her process the ongoing feud. "I knew immediately I needed to make music about it because I knew it was the only way I could survive it," she told Vogue in 2019. "It was the only way I could preserve my mental health and also tell the story of what it's like to go through something so humiliating."

Two years after Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift's feud began, it seemed like the E! star was finally putting the drama behind her for good. "I feel like we've all moved on," Kardashian told Andy Cohen during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in January 2019. The same month, Kardashian even shared a video of herself on Snapchat, where she was listening to Swift's bop "Delicate," per E! News.

But in September 2019, Swift detailed her so-called friendship with Kanye West and said "the world didn't understand the context" of her feud with the rapper. "Some events took place to cause me to be pissed off when he called me a b**ch," she told Rolling Stone magazine. "That was not just a singular event. Basically, I got really sick of the dynamic between he and I. And that wasn't just based on what happened on that phone call and with that song — it was kind of a chain reaction of things."

In August 2019, Swift released her Lover album, and fans were quick to point out that the first track, "I Forgot That You Existed," might be about West. However, Swift made it clear that she doesn't "think too hard about this stuff now," she told Variety in January 2020. 

Finally, it seemed like there was peace between the Kardashian-West clan and Swift, but that was about to change.

After Kanye West and Kim Kardashian allegedly put the Taylor Swift drama aside, something big happened: The unedited version of the phone call between the two musical artists was released on YouTube in March 2020. In the video, West did not ask Swift about the "I made that b**ch famous line." Instead, he asked the "Delicate" singer, "What if I said I made you famous?" However, Swift didn't seem on board with those lyrics. "Did you say that? Oh God, well what am I going to do about it at this point?" she replied.

Rather than replying to the petty drama, Swift encouraged her fans to donate to coronavirus relief organizations. "Instead of answering those who are asking how I feel about the video footage that leaked, proving that I was tell the truth about *that call* (you know, the one that was illegally recorded, that somebody edited and manipulated in order to frame me and put me, my family, and fans through hell for four years) ... SWIPE UP to see what really matters," she wrote on her Instagram Stories, per PopSugar.

In response, Kardashian took to Twitter to share that Swift had "chosen to reignite an old exchange," which felt "very self-serving" amid the coronavirus pandemic. Kardashian claimed she "never edited the footage" and said that would "be the last time [she spoke] on this because honestly, nobody cares."

Let's just all shake it off, shall we?