TAYLOR’S REVENGE ON KIM & KANYE ENGE KANYE
Six months after Kim Kardashian and Kanye West humiliated Taylor Swift, the pop star is taking them down
The biggest celebrity feud of 2016 spectacularly exploded on July 17. That’s when Kim Kardashian, who’d been calling Taylor Swift a liar for weeks, released video proof on Snapchat revealing that the pop star — despite her camp’s repeated denials — approved the majority of the controversial “Famous” lyrics Kanye West wrote about her, just as he’d long claimed, during a January 2016 phone call with the rapper. Within hours, Hollywood friends took sides, disappointed fans attacked and #Kimexposedtaylor trended on social media after Kim called out Taylor for always wanting to “play the victim.” Says an insider: “Taylor hasn’t forgotten how hard Kim and Kanye tried to humiliate her last summer.”
Now it’s payback time. In the wake of Kim’s jewelry heist in October, Kanye’s mental breakdown in November and ongoing rumblings of marital trouble between the stars, Taylor is dealing the couple another crushing blow. “She’s going to cause some major waves in the music industry and on social media with a revenge song directly targeting Kim and Kanye,” the insider tells In Touch exclusively. “Kim and Kanye aren’t going to be happy.”
The track’s incendiary name? “The takedown song Taylor’s going to drop about Kimye has been tentatively titled ‘No F---s Given,’” reveals the insider, “though she’ll probably go
for a softer song title in the end.” Even so, for a songwriter who’s known for penning scathing tracks about her exes and adversaries (see sidebar), this single will be especially brutal. “Taylor feels that the damage Kim and Kanye did was way worse than anything any of her enemies or ex-boyfriends ever did,” adds the insider. “It’s no-holds-barred and includes lyrics referring to Kim and Kanye’s horrible year. Taylor’s still angry about how they embarrassed her, so yes, she’s hitting below the belt.”
Taylor is determined to have the last word. “She wants the world to know that she’s still a force to be reckoned with and that Kim and Kanye totally manipulated the situation when they released the recording of her conversation with Kanye,” says the insider. “She’s not worried one bit about blowback and is prepared for counterattacks from both Kim and Kanye.”
Public interest in the track will, of course, be huge. But the Grammywinning songwriter is making sure the music stands on its own. “Taylor says this song is going to be bigger and better than ‘Bad Blood,’ ‘Dear John’ and ‘ We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ combined,” adds the insider. “She’s saying it’s a great track with an amazing beat that’s a surefire hit. People will love it — except for Kim and Kanye.” ◼
On June 14, Noor Salman returned home to the tiny Fort Pierce, Fla., apartment she’d shared with her husband, Omar Mateen. Two days earlier, he’d gunned down 49 people and wounded 53 more while pledging his allegiance to ISIS inside Pulse, a popular gay nightclub in Orlando, before cops killed him. As the camera crews descended, she pulled her hood over her eyes to cover her face and stepped inside the home, which contained no indication that a mass-murderer terrorist had been living there: loving family photos graced the walls; a Star Wars curtain hung in the bathroom; their then-3-year-old son’s superhero toys were scattered about. “I just want people to know that I am human,” Salman said later. “I am a mother.”
Seven months later, authorities are charging that Salman, 30, was in on it the entire time. On Jan. 16, she was arrested at her parents’ home in Northern California (where she moved shortly after the massacre) on federal charges of obstruction of justice plus aiding and abetting by providing material support to a terrorist organization. Now in an exclusive investigation, In Touch has learned there is evidence of another person being involved in the massacre. Daniel Gilroy, Mateen’s former co-worker, tells In Touch exclusively that he observed Mateen talking by phone to another man “of the same mindset” every day. What’s more, Gilroy has given authorities the name of that man — and they are investigating. “Anybody that had knowledge or was helping Mateen deserves to be prosecuted,” shooting survivor Orlando Torres tells In Touch. “Everybody wants justice. I lost a lot of friends that night.”
It was the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Dur-
ing Mateen’s rampage at Pulse, the crazed killer, 29, showed little emotion as he used a high-powered assault rifle to mow down a crowd of clubgoers. Around 4 a.m., two hours into the attack, Salman and her husband exchanged texts. “Do you see what’s happening?” Mateen texted. When she wrote, “No?” Mateen texted back, “I love you, babe.” Salman then tried to call his phone multiple times, but didn’t get through.
Shortly after, Mateen was killed by police. “I knew within days,” says Orlando police chief John Mina, “that she had some part and aided in this horrific tragedy.” In the months leading up to the attack, Mateen added Salman to his life insurance policy, gave her access to his bank accounts and even bought her a piece of expensive jewelry. Law enforcement officials also say that in early June, Salman accompanied her husband on a trip to scout out Pulse. (She says he created a cover story about why they were going there.) Authorities also say she accompanied him to buy ammunition before the attack. (She says he routinely bought ammunition because he was a security guard.)
So why did it take so long to arrest her? “The time lapse was mostly to allow Salman to resume her life under surveillance so authorities could learn what other questionable people she came in contact with,” says a police intelligence source. “You want to follow the chain to other potential terrorists as much as you can.” On Jan. 18, more than seven months after the attack, Salman pleaded not guilty to the federal charges against her. “I was unaware of everything,” she claimed in the only interview she’s given — to The New York Times in November — and also stated that Mateen had been physically abusive to her on several occasions. (Gilroy tells In Touch he overheard Mateen berate his wife “in a violent, dictatorial way” on the phone.) “I don’t condone what he has done,” Salman added. “He has hurt a lot of people.”
Even more horrifying: Another killer may still be on the loose. “When I worked with Mateen, he’d have hour-long conversations with this guy,” says Gilroy, referring to the man he believes also had a role in the murder plot. “They would have conversations about hatred, racism, weapons and guns, just railing about things. Mateen talked to him for over a year on a daily basis. It was an ugly situation.” The other man had similar beliefs to Mateen, who usually “vented most of his anger toward black people. He said he wished he could just kill them all,” reveals Gilroy, who filed a police report the day after the attack and says the officer who took his report was aware of the man’s identity.
Experts agree that it’s highly unlikely Mateen kept his plans to himself. “Over 65 percent of lone wolf attackers inform members of their family or friends about the elements of the plot,” Mia Bloom, a professor at Georgia State University who has studied the role of women and children in terrorist groups, tells In Touch.
Pulse survivors are counting on justice. “I’m hoping she receives a hefty sentence and that she rats out anyone else who was involved,” Torres says of Salman, who faces life in prison. While he knows that capturing those responsible won’t change what happened on that horrible night, Torres adds, “it will help heal our wounds.” ◼