Taylor Swift appears to have taken a subtle swipe at Kanye West by altering the title of one of her songs.
Earlier this week, while in London for the second leg of her Wembley shows, the pop star released a retitled version of her diss track, “thanK you aIMee.”
Originally, the song title, from her latest album The Tortured Poets Department, was seen by fans as a veiled reference to Kim Kardashian, with the capital letters in the title spelling out “KIM.”
However, on a new digital version of The Tortured Poets Department, recently uploaded to her website, the track has been renamed “thank You aimEe.” The capitalized letters now spell “Ye,” likely a nod to Kanye West, Kardashian’s former husband, who legally changed his name to Ye in 2021.
Swift performed this track as part of a mash-up with her 2010 hit “Mean” during one of her Eras Tour concerts at Wembley Stadium in July.
This minor title tweak comes just after Swift’s album The Tortured Poets Department marked its 14th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, surpassing West’s latest release with Ty Dolla $ign, Vultures 2, which was contending for the top spot.
The history of tension between Swift and West is well-documented. It all began in 2009 when West infamously interrupted Swift’s acceptance speech at the VMAs, arguing that Beyoncé was more deserving of the Best Female Video award.
The two crossed paths again in 2014 at the VMAs, where Swift presented West with the Vanguard Award, seemingly signaling a truce. However, in a later interview with Rolling Stone, Swift revealed that they didn’t interact backstage. “I’m standing in the audience with my arm around his wife, and this chill ran through my body,” she said. “I realized he is so two-faced. That he wants to be nice to me behind the scenes, but then he wants to look cool, get up in front of everyone, and talk s***. And I was so upset. He wanted me to come talk to him after the event in his dressing room. I wouldn’t go.”
The feud escalated in 2016 when West released his track “Famous,” which included the controversial lyrics: “I feel like me and Taylor Swift might still have sex/ Why? I made that b**** famous.”
West and Kardashian later leaked a phone call that seemed to show Swift agreeing to the use of her name in the song, a claim she vehemently denied. In response, Swift’s team issued a statement clarifying that West did not seek approval for the lyrics but rather asked her to promote the song: “Kanye did not call for approval, but to ask Taylor to release his single ‘Famous’ on her Twitter account. 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 b*** famous.’”
This controversy resulted in a significant backlash against Swift, leading to her being labeled a “snake” and prompting her to step back from the public eye. Reflecting on that period, Swift told Time during her Person of the Year 2023 interview, “My career was taken away from me.”
Swift continues her London performances until Tuesday, August 20, and recently surprised fans by alluding to her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn during one of her shows.
