If it feels like you’ve stepped out of a time machine this week, it’s probably because Taylor Swift’s new album, "The Tortured Poets Department," has reignited some eight-year-old drama between her and Kim Kardashian.
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For a quick reminder, Swift and Kardashian's feud began way back in 2016 with the release of Kanye West’s song, “Famous,” which included the controversial line: “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that bitch famous.”
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Even though West claimed that he got Swift's permission for the line, a spokesperson for the singer hit back and denied this was the case, describing the song as “misogynistic.”
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At this point, Kardashian entered the chat to defend her then-husband. After telling GQ that Swift “totally approved” the line, she took things to the next level by releasing footage of the actual phone call between West and Swift, in which she can be heard giving him the go-ahead.
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As the story goes, the phone call clip appeared to serve as evidence that Swift had lied, and as a result, a large portion of the internet turned on her, prompting her to go into hiding.
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And while Kardashian seems to have put the drama behind her, having never mentioned it since, it appears Swift's more reluctant to let it go.
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In the past eight years, Swift has unpacked the “snake-gate” drama on multiple occasions — in songs, acceptance speeches, her Netflix documentary, and in interviews.
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Even as recently as December, she name-dropped Kardashian directly during an interview with Time magazine, claiming that her career was temporarily “taken away” from her due to a “fully manufactured frame job” by Kardashian and West.
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So, after “snake-gate” seemingly inspired tracks on "Reputation" (2017), "Evermore" (2020), and "Midnights" (2022), Swift appears to be dwelling on the past once again on "The Tortured Poets Department," with a song that many have interpreted as a shady “diss track” toward Kardashian.
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In case you’ve not heard it yet, Swift's “thanK you aIMee” tells the story of a high-school bully, named Aimee. Of course, the biggest hint that this song is inspired by Kardashian is the fact that the capitalized letters in the track title spell out her name.
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Swift opens the song with a reference to a “bronze spray-tanned statue” of a person who caused her “searing pain” in the public eye. “All that time you were throwin' punches, I was buildin' somethin' / And I can't forgive the way you made me feel,” she sings, looking back at the conflict.
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In the second verse, Swift grapples with mocking “headlines,” recalling that “Aimee” “stomped across [her] grave.” She later indicates that she’s still haunted by what this person did to her, singing: “Everyone knows that my mother is a saintly woman / But she used to say she wished that you were dead / I pushed each boulder up the hill / Your words are still just ringing in my head.”
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Of the apparent hints that the song is about Kardashian, none garnered quite as much attention as a line that many fans believe is a reference to Kardashian's daughter, North, whereby Swift sings: “And one day, your kid comes home singin' / A song that only us two is gonna know is about you.”
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Needless to say, it didn’t take long for fans to start describing “thanK you aIMee” as a Kardashian “diss track,” with many wondering how the reality star might be feeling about the song.
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And now, with their 2016 feud being rehashed once again, an insider claims that Kardashian has moved past the drama — and wants Swift to do the same.
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“She’s over it and thinks Taylor should move on,” a source told People magazine on Tuesday, adding that Kardashian “doesn’t get why [Taylor] keeps harping on it.”
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Kardashian hasn’t personally addressed the “diss track,” though the Skims founder appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on Monday and told the host that “life is good.”