Taylor Swift On Her 2016 Feud With Kim Kardashian and Kanye West: “That Took Me Down Psychologically to a Place I’ve Never Been”
Let there be no doubt — my career was unjustly taken from me.
Taylor Swift is sparing no details in her Time’s Person of the Year cover story interview, marking her first extensive conversation in almost four years. From lauding Beyoncé to sharing insights into her connection with Travis Kelce, the singer has a lot to discuss as she reflects on her eventful year. Yet, amid her many achievements, Swift candidly recognizes that her journey to success included challenging moments, including a well-known feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
In the interview, which was released on Wednesday, Swift delved into the 2016 dispute for the first time in a while. She discussed how her ordeal, triggered by Kardashian sharing a secretly recorded phone conversation between Swift and Kanye on Twitter, plunged her into a “dark” period that she had never experienced before.
“Let’s be clear — my career was unjustly stripped away,” Swift declared when reflecting on the backlash following Kardashian’s tweet going viral. “I was presented with a completely manipulated scenario, involving an illicitly recorded phone call that Kim Kardashian edited and released to falsely portray me as a liar.”
She continued, “That took me down psychologically to a place I’ve never been before. I moved to a foreign country. I didn’t leave a rental house for a year. I was afraid to get on phone calls. I pushed away most people in my life because I didn’t trust anyone anymore. I went down really, really hard.”
Taylor added that while she “thought that moment of backlash was going to define me negatively for the rest of my life,” she eventually made it to the other side. The one somewhat positive side of the situation, Swift says? It made her realize that “nothing is permanent.”
“I’m very careful to be grateful every second that I get to be doing this at this level, because I’ve had it taken away from me before,” she explained. “There is one thing I’ve learned: My response to anything that happens, good or bad, is to keep making things. Keep making art.”
“But I’ve also learned there’s no point in actively trying to quote unquote defeat your enemies,” the A-lister concluded. “Trash takes itself out every single time.”
