NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — Kanye West’s new album, “The Life Of Pablo,” has ignited a new controversy between the rapper and pop superstar Taylor Swift.
West debuted his album at the Yeezy Season 3 fashion show at Madison Square Garden in New York on Thursday. The album included a song called, “Famous,” in which he called the “Bad Blood” singer a “bitch” and said he made her famous.
On his Twitter account, he said the lyric was not an insult. “I did not diss Taylor Swift and I’ve never dissed her,” he wrote.
“I called Taylor and had a hour long convo with her about the line and she thought it was funny and gave her blessings,” he wrote.
Tree Paine, Swift’s publicist, said in a statement that West did not ask Swift for approval.
“Kanye did not call for approval, but to ask Taylor to release his single ‘Famous’ on her Twitter account,” the statement said. “She declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message. Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric.”
West defended his use of the word “bitch,” saying it was an endearing term in hip hop.
Meanwhile, Swift’s friends have come to her defense on social media. Taylor Swift’s brother, Austin, posted an Instagram video of him throwing Yeezy shoes in a trashcan.
West famously interrupted Swift’s speech during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when she won for best female video. But the two apparently put differences aside and she introduced him when he won the video vanguard award at the 2015 VMAs.
