Kanye West on Wednesday said that he’s been ‘been far more helpful to Taylor Swift’s career than harmful,’ denied the singer had him kicked out of Sunday’s Super Bowl and said that efforts to suppress the success of his new album Vultures 1 are akin to racism.
West, 46, posted on Instagram in response to a Twitter post that encouraged Swift fans to purchase Beyoncé’s new single Texas Hold ‘em to keep West’s new single Vultures out of the top Billboard spot.
The account added, ‘REMEMBER he just DRAGGED Taylor on his latest Instagram Story,’ in reference to a post which said that he had overtaken Swift for the top spot globally on Spotify.
West said in the caption of his response, originally posted in all caps, ‘When I said that I’m the new Jesus bitch I wasn’t even thinking about Taylor Swift.
‘That was a whole line before but I appreciate the free promo. Lil Wayne actually mentions Travis Kelce on vultures 2. This album is actually super positive and fun it’s all about triumphant.’
Kanye West, 46, on Wednesday said that he’s been ‘been far more helpful to Taylor Swift ‘s career than harmful,’ denied the singer had him kicked out of Sunday’s Super Bowl and said that efforts to suppress the success of his new album Vultures 1 are akin to racism
West, whose career has dipped amid a torrent of antisemitic remarks he’s made for more than a year, said that 2023 ‘was incredibly challenging for me, my wife, my children, friends and family.’
‘I’ve been banned from hotels, kicked out of companies, and even not allowed to eat in some restaurants.’
West said that efforts have been taken to hamper the commercial success of his new album Vultures 1, which he said was ‘taken off of platforms to limit our first week numbers.
‘Everyone saw vultures 1 get taken off of platforms to limit our first week numbers. This reminds me of the mistreatment of my people because of the color of our skin.’
West pivoted back to Swift, telling his followers that he’s been beneficial to her career, and even sided with her amid her professional battle with Scooter Braun over ownership of her material.
‘Remember I was on Taylor’s side when Scooter bought her masters behind her back,’ he said. ‘She and Beyoncé are big inspirations to all musicians we always say how both sell out tours and movies.
‘Also, I’m sure I’ve been far more helpful to Taylor Swift’s career than harmful. To all Taylor swift fans I am not your enemy uuum im not your friend either though lol.
The Grammy-winning musical artist also denied that Swift had him escorted out of Sunday’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas, where he was accompanied by his wife Bianca Censori, 29.
The account added, ‘REMEMBER he just DRAGGED Taylor on his latest Instagram Story,’ in reference to a post which said that he had overtaken Swift for the top spot globally on Spotify
The Grammy-winning musical artist also denied that Swift had him escorted out of Sunday’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas, where he was accompanied by his wife Bianca Censori, 29
West said, ‘My wife had never been to a Super Bowl so I wanted to walk around and have a nice time we had such a fun day’
‘Also I didn’t get kicked out of the Super Bowl we left our seats to go to YG’s box and see different friends,’ he said. ‘My wife had never been to a Super Bowl so I wanted to walk around and have a nice time we had such a fun day.’
The seeds of the feud between West and Swift were planted at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards on September 13, 2009 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
In the infamous exchange, West infamously interrupted Swift during her victory speech for the Best Female Video award for You Belong With Me, which had been nominated against Beyonce‘s Single Ladies.
West emerged on the stage and took the microphone from Swift, telling her, ‘Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’mma let you finish. But Beyonce had one of the best videos of all-time! One of the best videos of all-time.’
While the musical stars appeared to be on better terms in the years following – they were pictured at a number of events in the years after – things blew up after the release of West’s 2016 song Famous.
West claimed at the time that Swift had given him her blessing to refer to her as a ‘B****’ in the lyrics of the song, in a reference to the VMAs incident.
Swift said she never made such an agreement, leading to a public feud with West after he and his former wife Kim Kardashian in July of 2016 released a call West and Swift had over the contents of the Famous song.
Kardashian alluded to Swift as a snake upon the release of the call, saying in a tweet, ‘Wait it’s legit National Snake Day?!?!?They have holidays for everybody, I mean everything these days!’
West referred to Swift in the lyrics and video for his 2016 song Famous. The video depicted a number of celebs including Swift, West and his ex-wife Kim Kardashian
Swift in 2019 spoke to Vogue about how she dealt with the high-profile scandal, saying she channeled her energies into her material.
‘A mass public shaming, with millions of people saying you are quote-unquote canceled, is a very isolating experience,’ she said of the difficult time. ‘When you say someone is canceled, it’s not a TV show. It’s a human being.
‘You’re sending mass amounts of messaging to this person to either shut up, disappear, or it could also be perceived as, “Kill yourself.”‘
She opened up about the creative process in the wake of the scandal, which purportedly inspired the tracks This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things and Look What You Made Me Do.
‘I knew immediately I needed to make music about it because I knew it was the only way I could survive it,’ Swift told the outlet. ‘It was the only way I could preserve my mental health and also tell the story of what it’s like to go through something so humiliating.’
Bill Maher revealed last week that he scuttled a two-hour interview he did with West for his Club Random podcast, saying he didn’t want to further platform the racist views espoused by West, who he described as a ‘charming antisemite’.
Maher, 68, told TMZ, ‘And by the way, he’s not the only one in America who feels that way – it’s not like the Jews are universally loved except for Kanye West.’
