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While we were busy self-isolating, the world's most famous phone call was leaked.

 

Four years after being branded a snake by well, the entire internet, Taylor Swift is likely feeling just a tad vindicated after this weekend.

And for good reason.

While we were busy curating a self-isolation playlist on Spotify and ordering products so we can pretend we have hobbies, a major development in the roller-coaster that is Kimye vs. Taylor went down.

Throwback to where it all began: The 2009 VMAs. Post continues below video.

Video via MTV

The full phone call between Kanye and Taylor about the rapper’s now infamous ‘Famous’ lyrics leaked and it turns out the video released by Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in 2016 that led to Taylor being ‘cancelled’ was… not entirely truthful.

Confused? Lost? Let us unpack it all.

Remind me… what went down in 2016?

In 2016, Kanye released his song ‘Famous’, a song that includes the lines:

I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex
Why? I made that b*tch famous (God damn)
I made that bitch famous

Obviously, Kanye and Taylor’s history goes back to the 2009 VMAs, when he rushed on stage and took the mic from her hands during her acceptance speech for Best Female Video.

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They later made up, but in 2016 their friendship ended in spectacular fashion.

Upon releasing ‘Famous’, Kanye claimed he had okayed the lines with Taylor prior to its release. She denied this, which led to Kim Kardashian releasing 22 videos on Snapchat that showed Kanye on the phone to Taylor.

In the videos, Swift can be heard discussing the song and giving her blessing to the line about sex. Taylor has always maintained she okayed the ‘I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex’ line, but took issue with him calling her a b*tch.

After Kim’s Snapchats came the #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty on Twitter, overuse of snake emojis and the singer’s ‘cancellation’, which led to Taylor retreating from the spotlight for a year. It also heavily inspired her 2017 album reputation, which used a lot of snakes. Like, a lot.

What does the newly leaked video show?

The origin of the video that leaked over the weekend is unknown, but it seems to confirm Taylor’s version of the story.

“So my next single, I want you to tweet it,” Kanye is heard saying in the video that has circulated on Twitter.

“It’s a Good Friday song. That’s why I’m calling you. I wanted you to put the song out.”

Responding, Taylor sounded confused and said people wouldn’t understand why she would be releasing his new song.

“The reason it would be happening is because it has a very controversial line at the beginning of the song about you,” Kanyne said.

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A wary Taylor asked if it’s “gonna be mean” and West said even Kim initially felt it was “too crazy” but had come around.

After Kanye reads her the original line about sex (originally “I feel like Taylor Swift might owe me sex”), Taylor said it was not mean, she was fine with that and during the conversation, she specifically mentions that she’s glad he didn’t call her a “stupid, dumb bitch”.

“I’m glad it’s not mean though,” she said on the call.

“It doesn’t feel mean, but like, oh my God, the build-up you gave it. I thought it was gonna be like that stupid dumb bitch, like, but it’s not.”

In another portion, Kanye asked Taylor how she would feel if he included a line that she “I made her famous”.

“Did you say that? Well, what am I going to do about it? It’s just kind of, like, whatever at this point,” she responded.

“But I mean, you gotta tell the story the way it happened to you and the way that you’ve experienced it. Like, you honestly didn’t know who I was before that. Like, it doesn’t matter if I sold seven million [copies] of that album before you did that, which is what happened. You didn’t know who I was before that. It’s fine. But um, yeah, I can’t wait to hear it.”

Kanye also promised to send her the final version of the song.

“I’m going to send you the song and send you the exact wording and everything about it, right? And then we could sit and talk through it,” he said, though Taylor has always said she never heard the song before its release.

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At no point in the video does Kanye run ‘b*tch’ past her.

What’s the response been to the leaked video?

After the video popped up on Twitter, #TaylorToldTheTruth and #KanyeWestIsOverParty both trended on Twitter.

Fans slammed Kim and Kanye and demanded they apologise to Taylor.

“Taylor Swift disappeared for two years because she thought the world hated her because Kanye West and Kim Kardashian painted her as a liar,” one fan tweeted. “Four years on and the truth is out. She was honest all along. Damn I really hope TS8 IS called Karma.”

Friends of Taylor shared messages of support, including Todrick Hall and Martha Hunt.

Taylor, Kim and Kanye have not said anything publicly since the video’s release.

Taylor has liked a number of posts on Tumblr, including one that said “Taylor told the truth moodboard” and another “How I sleep at night knowing we were right all this time and now we have the receipts to prove it.”

Kim liked a tweet that said “The video showed nothing new. We all knew that. I’m so confused right now”.

So… There we have it.

The world may be dealing with an unprecedented global pandemic, but one of the celebrity world’s most enduring feuds continues.