Kim Kardashian tweets closing argument in Taylor Swift feud

March 24, 2020 3:40 PM PT

There comes a moment in some long-running stories when who said what, and when, stops mattering. We long ago reached that point with the feud among Kanye West, Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian West, which has been going on for eternity, or at least since West jumped on Swift’s awards-show stage in 2009.

But on Monday night, Kardashian flexed her defense-attorney-in-training muscles on Twitter as she launched what appears to be a closing argument in her and West’s recently revived war of words with Swift.

Either that or Kardashian had a Twitter meltdown Monday night. It all depends on whose side you’re on.

New life had been breathed into the never-ending saga Friday night when someone leaked the full video of Swift and West’s 2016 phone chat about lyrics referencing Swift in his song “Famous.” Immediately the Twittersphere, which is loaded with Swifties ready to attack, cried out #TaylorSwiftToldTheTruth and #KanyeWestIsOverParty.

Kardashian, they said, had selectively edited the tape of the call when she released parts of it in 2016. Therefore, Swift was in the right.

On Monday night, the reality TV star begged to differ.

“To be clear, the only issue I ever had around the situation was that Taylor lied through her publicist who stated that ‘Kanye never called to ask for permission...’ They clearly spoke so I let you all see that. Nobody ever denied the word ‘bitch’ was used without her permission,” Kardashian tweeted.

“At the time when they spoke the song had not been fully written yet, but as everyone can see in the video, she manipulated the truth of their actual conversation in her statement when her team said she ‘declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message.’”

In “Famous,” West rapped, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that bitch famous.”

The issue, Kardashian wrote, had always been about whether the call had happened and what its tone had been. It wasn’t about whether Swift had OK’d the offending word.

“I never edited the footage (another lie) — I only posted a few clips on Snapchat to make my point and the full video that recently leaked doesn’t change the narrative,” she added.

Kardashian closed her 10-tweet statement by saying she would not speak about the issue in the future “because honestly, nobody cares.”

Swift, meanwhile, had piped up a few hours earlier via an Instagram story. And her publicist Tree Paine jumped into the mix Tuesday, sharing the unedited statement she had released in 2016 and wondering, “who did you guys piss off to leak that video?”

“Instead of answering those who are asking how I feel about the video footage that leaked, proving that I was telling the truth the whole time 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 4 years) ... SWIPE UP to see what really matters,” Swift posted Monday.

Swiping up led to the donation page for the nonprofit organization Feeding America.

So the next time this feud bubbles up, here are the takeaways to remember: Kardashian doesn’t want to speak about this again, but she did nothing wrong. Swift also doesn’t want to speak about this again, but she was framed.

And West? Blessedly, he hasn’t been seen on Twitter for weeks.

Here is the full transcript of Kardashian’s multiple-tweet statement:

”.@taylorswift13 has chosen to reignite an old exchange — that at this point in time feels very self-serving given the suffering millions of real victims are facing right now.

“I didn’t feel the need to comment a few days ago, and I’m actually really embarrassed and mortified to be doing it right now, but because she continues to speak on it, I feel I’m left without a choice but to respond because she is actually lying.

“The lie was never about the word bitch, It was always whether there was a call or not and the tone of the conversation.
I never edited the footage (another lie) — I only posted a few clips on Snapchat to make my point and the full video that recently leaked doesn’t change the narrative.

“To add, Kanye as an artist has every right to document his musical journey and process, just like she recently did through her documentary.

“Kanye has documented the making of all of his albums for his personal archive, however has never released any of it for public consumption & the call between the two of them would have remained private or would have gone in the trash had she not lied & forced me to defend him.

“This will be the last time I speak on this because honestly, nobody cares.

“Sorry to bore you all with this. I know you are all dealing with more serious and important matters.”