Eight years after the scandal that nearly destroyed her life and career, Taylor Swift has addressed Kim Kardashian publicly, in her own way—through music.
American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who undoubtedly left a significant mark on 2023 and was named Person of the Year by Time, has delighted fans with a new album. In a surprising last-minute announcement, she revealed that it is a double album titled “The Tortured Poets Department.”
This is Taylor Swift’s 11th studio album, and it does not disappoint those who were eagerly awaiting her poetic response to recent media coverage and discussions about her life.
In the album, Swift reflects on her breakup with British actor Joe Alwyn and her brief, nearly reputation-damaging relationship with rocker Matty Healy. Media attention has also been captivated by the fact that Swift dedicated two songs to reality star Kim Kardashian, adding another layer of intrigue to the album’s release.
The album features the track “thanK you aIMee,” where the capitalization of the letters K, I, and M hints at an obvious conclusion. The song portrays a malicious girl named Amy, a school bully, which Swift’s fans immediately linked to Kardashian. In it, Swift sings that she “wouldn’t be who she is today if it weren’t for her,” thanking Kim for once trying to destroy her life and career.
The lyrics express deep personal strife: “All the while you hit me, I was building something, and I can’t forgive how you made me feel. I screamed ‘Fuck you, Amy’ into the night sky as my blood fizzed, but I can’t forget how you forced me to heal. It wasn’t a fair fight, nor was it a clean kill. Every time Amy walked over my grave, then wrote headlines in the local newspapers, she undermined my every little step.”
Swift continues, revealing that her mother wished death upon her enemy and admits to changing the name of the person she addresses, leading everyone to conclude—it’s about Kim!
It seems Taylor Swift also references an incident where Kim Kardashian recorded her 10-year-old daughter North West dancing to Swift’s song “Shake It Off.”
Swift sings, “One day, your child will come home singing a song that only the two of us know is about you.”
Fans have noted that another song likely dedicated to Kardashian is “Cassandra,” which repeatedly mentions “snakes,” an emoji often used during the feud between Kim Kardashian and Kanye West on one side, and Taylor Swift on the other. The allusions in this track are more subtle, like references to a phone call, which was a central element of her conflict with Kim.
What Happened Between Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift?
The conflict between Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift can be traced back to a feud involving Kanye West, which began in 2009. During the MTV VMA awards that year, Taylor Swift was on stage accepting the award for Best Music Video. Kanye West interrupted her acceptance speech, proclaiming that Beyoncé deserved the award instead. Taylor, still young and relatively inexperienced at the time, was visibly stunned and stood speechless on stage.
This incident set the stage for ongoing tensions in the music industry between Swift and West, with Kardashian later becoming involved due to her marriage to West. The conflict escalated over the years, involving various public statements and social media exchanges.
For years, there was this quiet feud going on, with Taylor Swift mostly staying silent and taking the hits while minding her own business. Meanwhile, Kanye West got married to Kim Kardashian, and then in 2016, things blew up.
West released a song called “Famous” with some rude lyrics about Taylor Swift, claiming she said it was okay. Swift said that wasn’t true. Then Kim Kardashian posted a recorded phone call on social media, trying to make Swift look like a liar. So, basically, there was a big mess in 2016 with these three.
Taylor Swift, speaking to Time magazine at the end of last year, revealed the profound impact of the incident on her career and mental well-being. She expressed feeling like her career was being taken away from her, believing it marked the end for her and led her to an unfamiliar psychological state.
“I thought that moment was going to define me negatively for the rest of my life,” she said. Swift emphasized the orchestrated manipulation, citing the illegally recorded and edited conversation posted by Kim Kardashian to discredit her. She acknowledged how deeply it affected her, revealing it was much harder for her than anyone could have anticipated.
I moved to a foreign country. I didn’t leave the house I rented for a year. I was afraid to talk on the phone. I cut out most people from my life because I didn’t trust anyone anymore. I fell really, really deep,” the singer confessed.
In recent years, Kim Kardashian has shared Taylor’s songs on Instagram several times, and her sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner have become friends with some of Taylor’s closest friends. However, the most popular music star of today clearly has no intention of forgiving anything at this moment.
