A Chronological Journey Through Kanye West and Taylor Swift's Turbulent Relationship

Kanye West and Taylor Swift have had a tumultuous dynamic over the years — but what started the bad blood between the artists?

The infamous feud between the duo began when West shockingly ambushed Swift during the 2009 MTV VMAs. While Swift was giving her acceptance speech after taking home the trophy for Best Female Video, West took the stage to interrupt her and let the world know that Beyoncé should have won instead.

After West received tons of backlash from the incident, he ultimately apologized. While the pair seemingly made up after the awards show, the truce didn’t last for long.

Their bitter rivalry — which spanned for more than a decade — inspired several songs for both artists. The drama even led to Swift creating an entire era for herself with her iconic Reputation album.

Keep scrolling to see Swift and West’s history over the years:

The feud started when West interrupted Swift as she accepted the Best Female Video Award for “You Belong With Me” at the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2009. During her speech, West grabbed the microphone out of her hand and yelled, “Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you. Imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.”

The camera immediately panned to a horrified Beyoncé, who was nominated in the same category for her “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” video, saying, “No, Kanye.”

At the end of the night, Beyoncé came to Swift’s rescue. When she won her award for Video of the Year, Beyoncé brought Swift on stage to let her finish her speech.

West was immediately hit with backlash from celebs and fans alike. Then-president Barack Obama even called the rapper a “jackass” for the incident in an off-the-record comment during a CNBC interview.

Two days after the VMAs, West made a tearful appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. “It’s been a difficult day. … I immediately knew in the situation that it was wrong and it wasn’t a spectacle,” he explained at the time. “It’s actually someone’s emotions that I stepped on. It was rude, period. I’d like to apologize to her in person.”

After West shared his intentions to say he was sorry, Swift confessed the pair had spoken about the incident.

“Kanye did call me and he was very sincere in his apology, and I accepted that apology,” Swift told ABC Radio at the time. “The support I got from other artists and from the fans, and so many people sticking up for me, that’s what got me to the place where I could accept that apology. And I’m just very thankful that everyone showed me so much love.”

Swift released the track “Innocent” on her Speak Now album. The song alluded to her drama with West.

“It’s all right / Just wait and see / Your string of lights is still bright to me / Who you are is not where you’ve been / You’re still an innocent / … It’s okay / Life is a tough crowd / 32 and still growing up now,” she sings.

Later that year, Swift took the stage at the 2010 VMAS to perform “Innocent,” which was widely interpreted as a dig at West.

While everything seemed to be at peace for West and Swift, things escalated for the musicians three years later. In June 2013, West sat down with The New York Times for an extensive Q&A and the infamous moment with Swift was brought up. When asked if he regretted the outburst, West stood by his decision to storm the stage.

“I don’t have one regret,” he said to the outlet. “If anyone’s reading this waiting for some type of full-on, flat apology for anything, they should just stop reading right now.”

West and Swift made headlines in February 2015 when they were photographed smiling and having a conversation at the Grammy Awards. The next day, West told Ryan Seacrest in an interview that Swift approached him after Beck won the Album of the Year Award over Beyoncé and told him he should’ve gone on stage. “This is the irony in my life,” he quipped.

Seven months later, Swift revealed in the Vanity Fair September 2015 issue that she was gradually considering West as one of her friends.

“I feel like I wasn’t ready to be friends with him until I felt like he had some sort of respect for me, and he wasn’t ready to be friends with me until he had some sort of respect for me — so it was the same issue, and we both reached the same place at the same time,” she explained. “And then Kanye and I both reached a place where he would say really nice things about my music and what I’ve accomplished, and I could ask him how his kid [North is] doing. … We haven’t planned [a collaboration] … But hey, I like him as a person. And that’s a really good, nice first step, a nice place for us to be.”

At the 2015 VMAs, Swift and West had a full-circle moment. Swift presented West with the coveted MTV Video Vanguard Award at that year’s ceremony.

“I first met Kanye West six years ago — at this show, actually!” she quipped before explaining that the rapper’s debut album, The College Dropout, was “the very first album my brother and I bought on iTunes when I was 12 years old.”

She continued: “I’ve been a fan of his for as long as I can remember because Kanye defines what it means to be a creative force in music, fashion and, well, life, So, I guess I have to say to all the other winners tonight: I’m really happy for you, and imma let you finish, but Kanye West has had one of the greatest careers of all time.”

When West dropped his album The Life of Pablo in February 2016, he included a track titled “Famous” — which shaded Swift. “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that bitch famous,” he raps.

After receiving backlash for the controversial lyrics, West clarified on Twitter that he had an “hour long convo with [Swift] about the line and she thought it was funny and gave her blessings.”

While many of Swift’s friends and family members addressed the song, the singer broke her silence on the situation days later as she accepted the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

“I want to say to all the young women out there: There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take

“I feel like we’d all moved on,” Kardashian said of Swift during a January 2019 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen while noting that she was “over it.”

Swift, for her part, reflected on the drama and how she overcame it in a March 2019 interview with Elle.

“I learned that disarming someone’s petty bullying can be as simple as learning to laugh,” Swift explained. “In my experience, I’ve come to see that bullies want to be feared and taken seriously. A few years ago, someone started an online hate campaign by calling me a snake on the internet.”

Swift explained that the symbolism of the snake and how she claimed it as her own helped her overcome the negative memories.

“It would be nice if we could get an apology from people who bully us,” Swift continued. “But maybe all I’ll ever get is the satisfaction of knowing I could survive it, and thrive in spite of it.”