KIM vs TAYLOR THE TRUTH

'I'LL RISK EVERYTHING FOR KANYE'

LAST WEEK, KIM Kardashian broke the internet (again), when she uploaded video footage of her husband Kanye West asking Taylor Swift for her approval of the lyrics to his controversial song Famous. It ignited the most bitter feud in showbiz history, with Taylor claiming that she had been ‘painted as a liar’ and had endured ‘character assassination’. But amid speculation that Kim’s plan to discredit Taylor has backfired, Grazia speaks to Kim’s inner circle, LA legal experts and the parents of Taylor’s long-time rival Katy Perry to unpick the biggest fall-out in A-list history. Either way, Kim ‘will do whatever it takes to win’. But how did we get to this point? 

I ’LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN

THE BACKGROUND

The latest scandal is the culmination of seven years of feuding between Taylor and Kanye, which began during the 2009 MTV Awards, when he stormed the stage to protest her win for Best Female Video. Kanye later apologised, and the pair appeared to be friends at last year’s ceremony, when Taylor presented Kanye with an award. Then came Famous. Released in February, the track alluded to the pair’s original ruckus with the lyric ‘I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/why?/i made that bitch famous.’ Kanye claimed Taylor had approved the song, but her spokesperson said, ‘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.’

THE SECRET VIDEO

Following the episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians in which Kim discussed the situation (‘I never talk sh*t about anyone publicly… But I was just like, I have so had it… [it’s] just another way to play the victim’), she posted video footage of Taylor and Kanye’s call on Snapchat. In the video Kanye is seen reading the line ‘I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex’, to which Taylor responds, ‘It’s a compliment. Kind of.’ While he isn’t heard reading the ‘I made that bitch famous’ line, Taylor’s comment that ‘You gotta tell the story the way that it happened to you and the way you experienced it. Like, you obviously didn’t know who I was before that’ appears to allude to it. Then Taylor posted a statement, reading: ‘Where is the video of Kanye telling me he was going to call me “that bitch” in his song? It doesn’t exist because it never happened.’

KIM :‘ TAYLOR’ S A LIAR AND A FAKE’

Despite the furore, Kim is remaining unrepentant, with insiders claiming that she had been ‘determined to take down Taylor whatever the cost’. According to one associate, she sought legal advice before uploading the tapes and was aware of the dangers but ‘is prepared to risk everything for Kanye.’ She’s said to have told friends, ‘Taylor is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I’m done with her playing the victim, she’s a liar and a fake. How dare she trash Kanye when she knows the truth?’ The source told Grazia, ‘It’s completely unlike Kim to go for the jugular with other celebrities. Even after Kanye’s ex Amber Rose trolled her sisters, she made sure they publicly made up, but this is different. Kanye is also hell-bent on revenge. He never gets involved in Keeping Up With The Kardashians, but it was him who insisted to producers that his spat with Taylor was prominently featured in an episode which was aired in America last week. They’ve both been determined to expose what they see as her lies.’ As Grazia has previously reported, Kim’s sister Kendall Jenner has found herself caught in the middle. ‘Kendall’s friendship with 

THEY’RE DETERMINED TO EXPOSE WHAT THEY SEE AS TAYLOR’S LIES

Taylor is likely to be a casualty of the feud,’ said the source.

Kim apparently took umbrage with Taylor’s Grammy speech in February in which she made a thinly veiled allusion to those who ‘try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame’. Kim discussed this in an interview: ‘She totally approved [the song]’, she said. ‘It was funny because [on the call with Kanye, Taylor] said, ‘When I get on the Grammy red carpet, all the media is going to think that I’m so against this, and I’ll just laugh and say, “The joke’s on you, guys. I was in on it the whole time.” And I’m like, wait, but [in] your Grammy speech, you completely dissed my husband just to play the victim again.’

WHAT ABOUT KATY?

Taylor’s arch-nemesis Katy Perry appeared to side with Kim. Taylor’s feud with Katy came to a head when she released Bad Blood, widely acknowledged to be about Katy, and described her as a ‘straight-up enemy’. Speaking exclusively to Grazia, Katy’s mum Mary said, ‘Katy released Rise. It says, “My feet have been put to the fifire but I will rise.” That’s what she’s about right now.’ Hinting that Katy’s own feud with Taylor may have only just begun, her dad Keith added, ‘You know it ain’t over yet.’

NEXT STEPS

Now Taylor is said to be pursuing legal action against Kim and Kanye. LA criminal defence attorney Steve Cron told

Grazia, ‘It’s illegal in California to record anybody’s conversations without getting their permission fifirst. Even though Kanye was in New York and Taylor was in California, she has the benefifit of the laws in the state of California. If taping is done maliciously with an intent to embarrass, humiliate or cause financial or other harm to the person, the maximum sentence is three years in jail. Taylor could also sue for millions as a result of damage to her reputation.’ Meanwhile, it could be argued that Kim ‘aided and abetted’ the crime. If so, she can be treated as a principle in the case and could face up to a year behind bars herself. According to the Kim source, ‘It’s not over by a long shot and neither side is going to back down. Kim knows that Taylor has privately referred to Kanye as her stalker, and is going to do whatever it takes to win this battle.’ Either way, it looks like both sides have a long road ahead of them.

IT’S NOT OVER BY A LONG SHOT AND NEITHER SIDE IS GOING TO BACK DOWN