Celebrities are fair game when it comes to Taylor Swift songs, a lesson Kim Kardashian has learned firsthand with 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department.
“Kim isn’t happy about it but doesn’t want to add fuel to the fire,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly of Kardashian’s reaction to Swift’s “thanK you aIMee,” which is speculated to be about their past feud involving Kanye West.
The Kardashians star, 43, is “upset that Taylor is still harboring negative feelings toward her,” according to the insider. “She thought that their issues were in the past,” the source adds.
While Kardashian “had no idea she was going to be a part of this narrative,” the insider says she “did think this could happen at some point knowing how Taylor writes her music.”
Although Kardashian has yet to publicly comment on the Swift’s new song, she did give her first interview since the drop on Monday, April 22, telling Jimmy Kimmel, “Life is good.”
The following day, the Skims founder posted a 2022 throwback selfie via her Instagram Stories of herself, sister Khloé Kardashian and Swift’s former BFF Karlie Kloss. (Kloss, 31, and Swift were inseparable for years before an alleged falling out.)
In case you missed it, Us has plenty of info to break down TTPD. And while upon first glance, “thanK you aIMee” appears to be about someone named Aimee, but eagle-eyed fans quickly pointed out that the capital letters in the title spell out “Kim.”
In addition to the title nod, Swift, 34, alludes to her drama with Kardashian in the lyrics.
“When I picture my hometown / There’s a bronze spray-tanned statue of you,” she sings, seemingly describing Los Angeles. “And a plaque underneath it / That threatens to push me down the stairs at our school.”
Swift then slams Kardashian (or Aimee) for being a bully and “throwin’ punches” while she was “buildin’ something.”
The singer claims that it was never a “fair fight” between the women. She alleges that her nemesis was always “stomping across” her “grave” and “laughing at each baby step I’d take.”
Swift ultimately thanks her foe, singing, “I can’t forget the way you made me heal.”
Kardashian and Swift’s rift dates back to 2009 when the reality star’s now ex-husband West, 46, interrupted Swift’s MTV VMAs acceptance speech. West declared that Beyoncé deserved the award, which left the crowd speechless.
The rapper alleged in his 2016 “Famous” song that the awards show debacle propelled Swift to superstardom. Swift, meanwhile, slammed West for the lyric, “Me and Taylor still might have sex / I made that b—h famous,” claiming she did not sign off on it.
Kardashian defended her then-spouse, releasing a phone conversation between West and Swift, which was allegedly recorded without her consent. When Kardashian unveiled the footage via Snapchat she added snake emojis, which Swift referenced throughout her Reputation album.
In 2020, the feud reignited when the full version of Swift’s leaked phone conversation with West was released and proved she was “telling the truth the whole time.”
The following year, Kardashian turned heads when she complimented Swift’s music in an appearance on the “Honestly With Bari Weis” podcast. “I really like a lot of her songs,” she claimed in 2021. “They’re all super cute and catchy. I’d have to look in my phone to get a name.”
Despite being dissed in “thanK you aIMee,” the Skims founder would like to bury the hatchet with Swift once and for all. (Fans also think Swift commented on Kardashian’s past snake comments in her new track “Cassandra,” which features the lyrics “So, they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say / Do you believe me now?”)
“That was a different time in Kim’s life and she feels her whole life is different now and she’s in a better place,” the source tells Us of Kardashian and West’s 2021 divorced.
When it comes to Swift, Kardashian would “love to mend things between them,” the insider says, “Kim truly wishes Taylor the best and hopes they can move on.”