Kanye’s Contention with Taylor Swift’s Fans: An Explanation
- Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has reignited his longtime feud with Taylor Swift.
- Ye shared a screenshot on Instagram showing that he had more streams than Swift.
- Here’s how Swift’s fans dragged Beyoncé’s new single, “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM,” into the beef.
Ye, formally known as Kanye West, is feuding with Taylor Swift’s fans after he shared a post claiming he was Spotify’s global top artist.
On Tuesday, the rapper shared a screenshot of a post from X on his Instagram story that said he had “overtaken Taylor Swift as the top artist globally on Spotify.”
A chart in the screenshot showed Ye was on top of Spotify’s global top artist list on February 11, while Swift was in second place.
A day later, Ye shared another screenshot on Instagram of a post from a Swift fan calling on other fans to stream Beyoncé’s new track, “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM,” so it would reach No. 1 spot on the Billboard 100 chart instead of Ye’s tracks from his new album, “Vultures 1.”
“REMEMBER he just DRAGGED Taylor on his latest Instagram story,” the fan said in the now-deleted X post.
Ye slammed Swifties, Swift’s fandom, in the caption of an Instagram post on Wednesday.
“WHEN I SAID THAT I’M THE NEW JESUS BITCH I WASN’T EVEN THINKING ABOUT TAYLOR SWIFT. THAT WAS A WHOLE LINE BEFORE BUT I APPRECIATE THE FREE PROMO,” he wrote, referring to a lyric in his new song “Carnival.”
Ye said his new album focused on positivity and fun after his difficulties last year, including his divorce from Kim Kardashian and numerous companies cutting ties with him over offensive behavior. Ye also played down his long-term feud with Swift later in the post.
“REMEMBER I WAS ON TAYLOR’S SIDE WHEN SCOOTER BOUGHT HER MASTERS BEHIND HER BACK,” Ye wrote, referring to music executive Scooter Braun, who bought the masters rights to Swift’s albums in 2019. “SHE AND BEYONCÉ ARE BIG INSPIRATIONS TO ALL MUSICIANS WE ALWAYS SAY HOW BOTH SELL OUT TOURS AND MOVIES.”
“ALSO, I’M SURE I’VE BEEN FAR MORE HELPFUL TO TAYLOR SWIFT’S CAREER THAN HARMFUL. TO ALL TAYLOR SWIFT FANS I AM NOT YOUR ENEMY UUUM IM NOT YOUR FRIEND EITHER THOUGH LOL,” Ye added.
Swift and Ye have had a strained relationship since 2009 after the rapper interrupted the singer’s acceptance speech for the best female video award at MTV’s Video Music Awards.
Ye has also claimed that he has helped Swift’s career, which has only heightened the tension between the two artists.
“I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that bitch famous,” Ye said in 2016 in his infamous track “Famous.”
After the song’s release, Swift’s publicist, Tree Paine, said Swift was never warned about the lyrics. Ye and his then-wife, Kardashian, have denied this and publicly debated with Swift over the matter.
Ye said Swift didn’t kick him out of the Super Bowl
Later in Ye’s post, the rapper also responded to former NFL star Brandon Marshall’s claim on the “I Am Athlete” podcast on Tuesday that Swift kicked Ye and his new wife, Bianca Censori, out of the 2024 Super Bowl. Marshall said Ye had specifically bought seats in front of Swift’s VIP box at the 2024 Super Bowl so he could get more exposure.
Ye said in the Instagram post on Wednesday that he didn’t get kicked out of the event. Instead, he and his wife went to see friends during the game.
“MY WIFE HAD NEVER BEEN TO A SUPER BOWL SO I WANTED TO WALK AROUND AND HAVE A NICE TIME WE HAD SUCH A FUN DAY,” he said.
Representatives for Beyoncé and Swift did not respond immediately to Business Insider’s request for comment.