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 Just six months after two of the biggest names in music
publicly put a long-running feud behind them, the "1989" pop
star and the rapper have fallen out again over West's claim in a
new song that he made Swift famous.
"I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex, I made that
bitch famous," rapped West, while unveiling his new single
"Famous" on Thursday to an online audience of some 20 million.
The fallout came four days ahead of the Grammy awards ceremony
in Los Angeles, where Swift has seven nominations and will be
the opening performer. West has four nominations.
West's new song referred to an infamous 2009 MTV Video Music
Awards (VMA) incident in which he snatched the microphone from
Swift during her acceptance speech and declared that Beyonce
should have won.
West, who is married to reality television star Kim Kardashian,
and Swift put that to rest at the VMA show in August when she
presented him with an lifetime award and praised his talents.
West later sent Swift dozens of white roses and she called him
her BFF (Best Friend Forever).
West said on Friday that Swift, whose "1989" album was the
world's best seller in 2014, had approved the lyrics to
"Famous."
"I did not diss Taylor Swift and I’ve never dissed her," West
said in a string of Twitter postings. He tweeted that Swift came
up with the idea for the song and that she thought the line "was
funny and gave her blessings."
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But the country-turned-pop star denied it and called West a
misogynist.
"Kanye did not call for approval, but to ask Taylor to release his
single 'Famous' on her Twitter account," Swift's representative said
in a statement. "She declined and cautioned him about releasing a
song with such a strong misogynistic message. Taylor was never made
aware of the actual lyric, 'I made that bitch famous.'"
Swift's brother, Austin Kingsley Swift, responded to the song by
posting an Instagram video of himself throwing a pair of West's
Yeezy brand of sought-after fashion shoes into the trash.
West is due to perform on TV sketch show "Saturday Night Live" this
weekend to promote his new album "The Life of Pablo." It was not
clear on Friday whether he would attend the Grammys on Monday.
(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bill Trott)
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