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Taylor Swift, Kanye West’s infamous 2016 phone call leaks

Kanye West takes the microphone from Taylor Swift and speaks onstage during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on Sept. 13, 2009 in New York City. Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Newly-leaked video clips have emerged of the entirety of a controversial and much-storied phone call between Taylor Swift and Kanye West which took place four years ago, where the musicians discussed the lyrics of West’s then-upcoming single, Famous.

Upon release of the 2016 hit, the 42-year-old was condemned by many for a “misogynistic” line where he targets Swift. In it, he raps: “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex, Why? I made that b—h famous.”

Though the 30-year-old denied ever hearing the profanity-laced lyric, West — while heavily under fire by an army of both Swifties and feminists — insisted Swift had actually approved the “I made that b—h famous” line in a phone call prior to the song’s release.

This prompted many to label the Love Story singer a “snake” for allegedly lying about not giving her blessings

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https://twitter.com/redligion/status/1241211618056228864

Furthermore, to back her husband’s claim, Kim Kardashian posted an edited version of the phone call to the internet, which appeared to show Swift approving all of the lyrics to Famous — ultimately making her look like a liar — when in fact, she had only approved the “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex” lyric, as corroborated in the newly uncovered video snippets.

Unlike other edited snippets previously shared of the phone call, the new footage — which was posted online from an unknown source late Friday night, according to the Associated Press (AP) — shows all 25 minutes of the conversation, albeit chopped up.

In the clip, West tells Swift he’s working on a song and wants to use the lyric: “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex.” He wasn’t, however, captured telling her about the lyric: “I made that b—h famous.”

In response to the line about “having sex,” Swift is heard saying: “I’m glad it’s not mean. It doesn’t feel mean, but like, oh my God, the build-up you gave it.”

Taylor Swift, in Netflix’s ‘Miss Americana’ documentary, which is set for a worldwide release on Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. YouTube/Netflix

“I thought it was gonna be like ‘that stupid dumb b—h,’ but it’s not,” she added in the call, suggesting she was not once informed about the offensive lyric West claimed she initially knew about.

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“I never would have expected you to tell me about a line in one of your songs,” continues Swift. “That’s really nice that you did,” she added in the phone call.

After the newly-surfaced videos of the phone call came to light, an abundance of Swifties took to social media expressing their relief at the apparent vindication of the pop icon.

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Many others shared their feelings of “justice” after defending Swift for the last four years and continued to spew criticism at West and Kardashian, 39, forever targeting her.

“Y’all bullied the s–t out of her in 2016. [You] called her a snake and made her disappear for over a year because you didn’t trust her,” wrote one fan on Twitter. “Taylor Swift is one that will NEVER lie for publicity and y’all should know that,” they added.

Here’s what some people had to say about the video on Twitter:

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https://twitter.com/mogirlprobs/status/1241344131122814977

https://twitter.com/lilswaggydaddy2/status/1241186797381718017

https://twitter.com/lalisanae/status/1241379912298135553

On the other hand, many users seemed to have lost interest in the “petty” beef between the artists, with some even tweeting “Who cares?” about the “drama.”

“Can we just focus on the real thing happening right now?” asked one Twitter user. “It’s 2020, let’s move on. Let’s focus on helping everyone right now who literally needs our help by donating mask, foods, medicines etc.,” they concluded, referring to the panic surrounding the novel coronavirus.

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The musicians have had a contentious past. West famously interrupted Swift’s speech during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when she won the Best Female Video for her You Belong with Me video. At the time, West snatched the microphone and argued that Beyoncé should have won instead for Single Ladies (Put a Ring On it).

“Yo, Taylor,” he said. “I’m really happy for you, I’mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time,” he repeated, before being booed offstage by the audience.

Click to play video: 'Kanye West delivers another Taylor Swift-focused rant'
Kanye West delivers another Taylor Swift-focused rant

Before their controversial phone call and the subsequent controversy surrounding Famous, however, the two seemingly put their differences aside when Swift introduced West onstage after he won the Video Vanguard Award at the 2015 VMAs.

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Global News has reached out to a representative of West seeking comment. A spokesperson for Swift did not make comment.

— With files from the Associated Press

adam.wallis@globalnews.ca

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