Make no mistake in thinking Taylor and Kim's feud was off the cuff. It was the exact opposite.

Combined, Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian have over 123 million Twitter followers and 163 million Instagram followers.

Last year, they earned a whopping US$221 million between them.

They’re two of the biggest celebrities on the planet, and nothing they do or say goes unnoticed. Which is exactly why, when two of the most influential names in Hollywood go head to head, it’s important to realise that nothing in celeb land goes unorganised.

After all, there’s a forgotten third party in the Taylor Swift vs. Kim Kardashian feud, and it just might be the most important of all.

The third party at play in the biggest celeb showdown of 2016 is not the countless celebrities that have jumped in to defend both sides of the argument (we’re looking at you, Ruby Rose, Selena Gomez, Khloe Kardashian and Demi Lovato). It’s not Kanye West, who is the man on which this argument is currently pinned.

It’s the PR machine. Or rather, the Kardashian machine.

When Kim ‘decided’ to release a series of Snapchats that appear to show Kanye approving his Famous lyrics with Taylor, it was no mistake. Kim had been teasing the footage for weeks – she’d mentioned it in numerous interviews, in tweets, and even in a promo for the reality show that made her famous, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, which was released only a few days ago.

Kim even hinted on Twitter, minutes before the Snapchat Scandal erupted, that her fans should ‘follow her’ on the social media platform. Complete with smiley face, of course. Fans knew something BIG was about to go down.

do u guys follow me on snap chat? u really should ;-)

— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) July 18, 2016

As the videos were being posted online, the latest episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians went to air. An episode that centred around Kim’s comments about Taylor Swift in a recent interview with GQ magazine.

“I never talk sh*t publicly, like in interviews, but I was just like, I’ve so had it,” she tells her sister Kourtney in the show. “[Taylor Swift] legitimately, quote, said, ‘As soon as I get on that Grammy red carpet, I’m gonna tell all the press, like I was in on it’,” she says.

In the episode, Kim talked about “defending” her husband Kanye West, and she even referenced the phone conversation between the rapper and Taylor, claiming the 26-year-old singer “helped re-write” the song.

“He called her, spoke to her, she even helped him like rewrite [it]…it’s so wild,” she says.

“Kanye definitely hurt her years ago when he did that and it wasn’t meant to be personal. It could have been anyone! We all know that Single Ladies was the biggest song of the year. So I think when [Beyoncè] didn’t win, he just wanted to stand up for it,” she says.

The videos, and the episode, were also released in a week that is far from the best Taylor Swift has ever had. Her ex-boyfriend, Calvin Harris, unleashed on his former girlfriend, claiming that her and her publicist were trying to “destroy” him, after it was confirmed Taylor was the artist behind his current smash hit, This Is What You Came For.

Hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage though ???? — Calvin Harris (@CalvinHarris) July 13, 2016

I figure if you’re happy in your new relationship you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down for something to do

— Calvin Harris (@CalvinHarris) July 13, 2016

I know you’re off tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy ETC but I’m not that guy, sorry. I won’t allow it — Calvin Harris (@CalvinHarris) July 13, 2016

Despite the unstoppable PR and entertainment force that is the Kardashians, Taylor Swift isn’t blameless.

Eagle-eyed fans were quick to spot the ‘mistake’ in Taylor’s social media response to the videos. The singer posted a screenshot of a statement written in the Notes iPhone app, but it appeared she had to ‘search’ within the app to find her statement. That means she’s had it prepared for months, which means she had some sort of idea this moment was coming.

Her legal team also tried to order Kanye to ‘destroy’ any evidence of the recordings, so they couldn’t be released to the public. The famous couple could now see themselves in legal hot water, depending on where the footage is filmed: it’s illegal to record someone without their consent in the state of California.

But this isn’t about sides, it’s not about who’s right and who’s wrong and who said or who did what. It’s about understanding that when we’re not a part of these celebrities’ private lives (as much as we like to think we are, thanks to the wonders of social media), the only thing we have to go on is what we’re presented on public platforms.

And more often than not, that is a PR-constructed image, designed to make money and earn followers.

via GIPHY