The INSIDER Summary:

• Taylor Swift's latest songs off her next album have fans convinced she's throwing shade at former pal Kanye West.
• If you can't recall why the two have beef, INSIDER put together a handy timeline of the rocky history between the performers.
• It all started in 2009 when West rushed the MTV Video Music Awards to interrupt an acceptance speech by Swift.
• Jay-Z helped the two patch things up and become friendly for a bit in 2015.
• Everything changed when West released a song called "Famous," in which he referred to Swift as "that b----" and took credit for her fame.

Ever since Taylor Swift dropped her first new single, "Look What You Made Me Do," in August, fans have been scouring the song and its accompanying music video for every possible diss and reference.

While many believe there are nods to her rivalry with Katy Perry on the track and video along with some exes, there are potential references to one celeb frenemy that stand out the most: Kanye West. 

And it's not just that song. When Swift released the second single, "...Ready For It?" from her forthcoming sixth studio album, fans were convinced the singer was throwing shade West's way. The rap/pop song opens with a heavy bass that reminds fans of the sounds from the rapper's 2013 album "Yeezus."

It also doesn't help that her new line of concert tour merchandise looks very similar to Kanye's Yeezy fashion line.

If Swift isn't goading West, she's certainly doing a good job of making that the public perception. If you're confused about why Swift would have any beef about Kanye at all, we'll catch you up to speed before the pop star drops any more new tunes on her fans.

Here's everything you need to know about the famous on-again-off-again feud between Swift and West.

September 13, 2009: It all started with a mic steal.

Rewind eight years to the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. A stunned Swift beat out Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" to win best female video for "You Belong With Me." 

However, she was more surprised when Kanye West interrupted her acceptance speech. The rapper infamously ran on stage and swiped the mic from Swift to let everyone know Beyoncé was robbed.

"I'm really happy for you. I'mma let you finish," West said as he took the mic from Swift. "But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time."

When the camera cut to Beyoncé, she looked horrified. After West delivered the mic back to Swift she wasn't quite sure what to say to the crazed crowd. In fact, she didn't get to say anything else because MTV cut to a video with Tracy Morgan and Eminem. It was one of the most awkward moments in VMA history. 

You can watch the very awkward moment below.

September 2009: Kanye West apologizes multiple times and the two appear to be okay.

The rapper initially posted an apology to his website shortly after the VMAs. It was later taken down and replaced with a second apology September 14. 

"I feel like Ben Stiller in 'Meet the Parents' when he messed up everything and Robert De Niro asked him to leave," wrote West in 2009.

That same day, West went on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" to say he felt awful taking something away from a talented artist. 

"I only wanted to help people my entire life. I've only wanted to give and do something that I felt was right and I immediately knew in this situation that it was wrong," West told Leno of storming the VMA stage. "It wasn't a spectacle. It's actually someone's emotions that I stepped on. It was rude, period." 

Leno then asked West what his mother, who died two years earlier at the time, would have said of the incident. The rapper paused for a moment before gathering himself to say he needed to step back for awhile and rethink some of his actions.

"I don't try to justify it because I was just in the wrong. That's period," added West. "But I need to, after this, take some time off and just analyze how I'm going to make it through the rest of this life, how I'm going to improve."

Swift told ABC News Radio West called her to apologize for his behavior on stage the following day. 

"Kanye did call me, and he was very sincere in his apology, and I accepted that apology," said the singer. 

2010: Swift performs a song with lyrics inspired by West. 

Swift debuted a new song, "Innocent," the following year at the VMAs and fans were quick to believe some of the lyrics were pointed toward West. 

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

The singer didn't shy away from saying West inspired the lyrics.  

"I think a lot of people expected me to write a song about him [West]," Swift told NY Mag in 2010 about her "Speak Now" song. "But, for me, it was important to write a song to him." 

2013: West says he gave in to peer pressure to apologize to Swift.

In a New York Times interview, West said he doesn't have any regrets about anything. He said the 2009 VMA incident led him to "complete awesomeness" in his life. 

When he was reminded he apologized to Swift for interrupting her speech, he suggested it wasn't his idea. 

"I have, as a human being, fallen to peer pressure," West said of apologizing to Swift.

February 2015: The two are photographed together at the Grammys.

People were stunned when the two were spotted together at the 57th annual Grammys laughing, hugging, and snapping photos together. It looked like the two turned over a new leaf.

February 2015: Kanye West suggests he wants to work together with Swift.

Later, during an interview with Ryan Seacrest, West made it sound like all the drama with Swift was in the past. He said the two even discussed working on music together. 

"[Swift] wants to get in the studio and we’re definitely going to go in. Any artist with an amazing point of view, perspective, fan base, I’m down to get in the studio and work. I don’t discriminate," West told Seacrest of a potential collaboration. "If I could be involved in giving people any type of energy, advice in the studio, whether you’re Beyoncé, whether you’re Taylor Swift, whether you’re Jay-Z, whether you’re Beck, whoever, and they can be reciprocal with that, I’d like to be involved with that."

August 2015: Taylor Swift says she and West are buds.

In the September issue of Vanity Fair, Swift said she finally felt the two were at a place where they could genuinely be friends after Jay-Z helped the two smooth things over. 

"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," Swift said of a budding friendship with West at the time. 

"I became friends with Jay Z, and I think it was important, for Jay Z, for Kanye and I to get along," she added of how the two became closer. "It started with both of us really liking Jay and wanting him to be happy. 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’s doing."

In the same interview, Swift said she loves West's wife Kim Kardashian noting that she's "the sweetest."

August 30, 2015: Swift gives West the MTV Video Vanguard Award.

Six years after the West rushed Swift on stage at the MTV VMAs, Swift presented the rapper with the show's highest honor, the Video Vanguard Award. 

Before he accepted the award, Swift introduced West as her friend and even poked fun at the 2009 mishap.

"I have 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," Swift said on the VMA stage. "So I guess I have to say to all the other winners tonight: I’m really happy for you, and I’mma let you finish, but Kanye West has had one of the greatest careers of all time! I am honored to present the 2015 Vanguard Award to my friend, Kanye West."

September 2015: The two appear to be best buds.

Swift shows off a bouquet of flowers West sent to the singer following the VMAs and referred to themselves as best friends. At the time, she captioned the photo, "Awwww Kanye sent me the coolest flowers!! #KanTay2020 #BFFs".

February 2016: Everything changes when West debuts a new song, "Famous."

West premiered the song along with the rest of his seventh album, "The Life of Pablo," at Madison Square Garden. "Famous" quickly came under scrutiny for a few lyrics directed at Swift.

I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex
Why? I made that bitch famous
I made that bitch famous

After the line started to receive criticism, West took to Twitter at the time to defend and explain the inclusion of Swift in the song. In a series of deleted tweets, West said he did not diss Swift and that he asked the singer about the lyrics first.

"3rd thing I called Taylor and had a hour long convo with her about the line and she thought it was funny and gave her blessings," West tweeted February 12.

West went on to say Swift came up with the idea, telling a mutual friend she couldn't be mad at Kanye because he made her famous.

But it was too late at that point. Swift's brother Austin already shared an Instagram in which he threw a pair of Yeezy sneakers in the trash. Swift's squad members Selena Gomez and Martha Hunt were spotted liking the post.

The same day, Swift's rep released a statement saying the singer did not call her for approval of the song. Instead, West asked Swift to release "Famous" on her Twitter account.

"She declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message,"read the statement. "Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric, 'I made that bitch famous.'"

February 15, 2016: Swift slams West at the Grammys.

When Swift won the award for album of the year, the singer indirectly addressed the lyric in a fiery and empowering acceptance speech.

"As the first woman to win album of the year at the Grammys twice, 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 credit for your accomplishments or your fame," said a teary-eyed Swift. "But if you just focus on the work and you don't let those people sidetrack you, some day when you get where you're going, you'll look around and you will know that it was you and the people who love you who put you there and that will be the greatest feeling in the world." 

You can watch the speech below:

February 17, 2016: West refers to Swift as fake.

During an appearance on "Saturday Night Live," West was secretly recorded backstage while expressing frustration about a change the show made to his stage without notifying him.

In the recording, West is heard saying, "Now I'm bummed. That and Taylor Swift, fake a--."

February 24, 2016: West says Swift's not cool anymore.

West appeared at a nightclub and told the crowd during a 20-minute rant about his alleged call with Swift about the "Famous" lyric.

"She said, 'Ooo, Kanye, I like that line,'" West is heard yelling at the crowd. "Then she won her award and said something completely different. She ain't cool no more. She had two seconds to be cool and she f---ed it up." 

You can see the video of West at the nightclub here.

June 16, 2016: Kim Kardashian claims Swift knew about the song.

West's wife became involved in the back-and-forth when she spoke out about the "Famous" lyric in an interview with GQ. Kardashian claimed Swift knew about the lyric and she was tired of the singer denying it. 

“She totally approved that,” Kardashian said of Swift's knowledge of the lyric. "She totally knew that that was coming out. She wanted to all of a sudden act like she didn't. I swear, my husband gets so much s--- for things [when] he really was doing proper protocol and even called to get it approved."

Kardashian also claimed she had footage of the call. She told GQ she received an attorney's letter from Swift that said to never let the footage come out and to "destroy it."

June 16, 2016: Swift hits back quickly and the war of words continues.

When Kardashian's article came out, it included a statement from Swift's rep which said the celebrity had incorrect information.

"Taylor does not hold anything against Kim Kardashian as she recognizes the pressure Kim must be under and that she is only repeating what she has been told by Kanye West," read the statement. "However, that does not change the fact that much of what Kim is saying is incorrect. Kanye West and Taylor only spoke once on the phone while she was on vacation with her family in January of 2016 and they have never spoken since. Taylor has never denied that conversation took place."

The rest of the statement claimed Swift did not know about the intended use of the word b----, nor did she hear the song ahead of time. You can read the full statement at GQ here.

June 24, 2016: West releases the music video for "Famous" and it shows Swift in bed with him.

When the music video for "Famous" debuted exclusively on streaming service Tidal, fans were surprised to see a naked Swift in bed with West. It wasn't just Swift who was in bed with the rapper. A bunch of stars ranging from Bill Cosby to Rihanna and Kim Kardashian were all in a giant bed with West. 

It doesn't take long before Swift's squad member Lena Dunham called out West for the objectification of women in the video on Facebook.

"Here's the thing, Kanye: you're cool. Make a statement on fame and privacy and the Illuminati or whatever is on your mind!" wrote the "Girls" actress three days after the video's release. "But I can't watch it, don't want to watch it, if it feels informed and inspired by the aspects of our culture that make women feel unsafe even in their own beds, in their own bodies."

West told Vanity Fair the video wasn't meant to comment on anyone in the video in a negative or positive way.

"It’s not in support or anti any of [the people in the video]," West said. "It’s a comment on fame."

July 17, 2016: Kim Kardashian releases footage of West and Swift speaking.

Kardashian released a flurry of Snapchats of portions of the alleged call between Swift and West immediately after an episode of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." The videos contained audio of Swift discussing parts of the song "Famous." There's never a direct reference to the "that b----" lyric.

"Yeah, I mean, go with whatever line you think is better," Swift is heard saying in the Snapchats. "It's obviously very tongue in cheek either way. And I really appreciate you telling me about it, that's really nice."

"I just had a responsibility to you as a friend," West is seen responding. "Thanks for being like so cool about it."

"The heads up is so nice," Swift says later in the recording. "Even asking or seeing if I would be OK with it, I just really appreciate it. I would never expect you to like tell me about a line in one of your songs." 

Swift goes on to tell West that he needs to tell the story the way that it happened to him and the way he experienced it and that if she's asked about the lyric at the Grammys or elsewhere she would be happy to tell people West clued her into the line before the song came out.

After the videos were released, the hashtag "#KimExposedTaylorParty" began trending on Twitter. You can watch the three-minute Snap compilation here. 

July 17, 2016: Swift quickly took to Twitter and Instagram to call out the edited clips and it goes horribly wrong.

Swift sent out a screenshot of a message she wrote on her phone saying she never heard or approved the "that b----" line.

"Where in the video of Kanye telling me he was going to call me 'that bitch' in his song? It doesn't exist because it never happened. You don't get to control someone's emotional response to being called 'that bitch' in front of the entire world," Swift's now-deleted post read. "Of course I wanted to like the song. I wanted to believe Kanye when he told me that I would love the song."

Swift then accused Kimye of character assassination before asking to be left out of this conversation.

"I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, one that I have never asked to be a part of, since 2009," Swift concluded. 

You can read more of the deleted message here.

However, Swift's quick response backfired. The singer was accused of sharing a message she prepped in advance to reply after the Snapchats were released. The screenshot Swift shared included a search link. Select All pointed out that only appears in Apple's Notes app if you've selected the note from a list of search results.

July 17, 2016: The same night, Kardashian throws shade at Swift on Twitter. Swift's association with snakes is born.

Kardashian also shared a tweet the same night writing, "Wait it's legit National Snake Day?! They have holidays for everybody, I mean everything these days!" It was followed by a series of snake emojis.

Kimye fans then took to Swift's Instagram comments to fill them with snake emojis.   

In September, Instagram introduced a filter to delete words and emojis from users' feeds as an anti-bullying and harassment precaution. The technology was tested on Swift's snakes first and was successful.

After that, Swift went eerily quiet. According to People, the singer made the "conscious decision to disappear" to focus on her music.

August 21, 2017: Swift teases her new album with a familiar animal.

After lying low, Swift emerges in mid-August to wipe her social media slate clean. Afterwards, several cryptic messages of a snake appeared on her Instagram. Fans thought it was an immediate reference to Kardashian's snake tweet from the previous summer.

Swifties started flooding Kardashian's social comments with snake emojis. However when none of the serpents were appearing on Kardashian's Instagram account, it was thought Kardashian was using Instagram's anti-bullying feature to block the snakes from her page, too.

August 23, 2017: Swift releases album artwork and merchandise that looks oddly familiar.

Swift unveils the artwork for her sixth studio album, "Reputation," and some fans immediately think the cover looks reminiscent of West's "The Life of Pablo" album from 2016. Many thought the font on the two covers looked similar.

It wasn't just the artwork on the album though. When merchandise for Swift's next tour became available fans claimed her clothing resembled West's Yeezy fashion line and "Life of Pablo" merch.

August 23, 2017: Swift releases a new song and fans are quick to pick out lyrics that appear to be about West.

Not long after Swift's first new single from "Reputation" dropped fans thought the track had a few subtle disses towards West. 

The opening lines of "Look What You Made Me Do" include a reference to a tilted stage. Fans were convinced Swift was calling out West's levitating, "tilted" stage from his Saint Pablo Tour. 

Fans believed other lines referenced the "Famous" call between West and Swift.

I don't like your perfect crime 
How you laugh when you lie 
You said the gun was mine
Isn't cool, no, I don't like you (oh!)

You can read all of the possible digs Swift takes at West in "Look What You Made Me Do" here. 

August 27, 2017: The music video for "Look What You Made Me Do" drops and fans spot even more potential references to West and Kardashian.

Swift's music video is unveiled at the MTV VMAs and she noticeably embraces the snake emoji Kimye fans used against her in the past. The serpents are seen throughout the video taking shape as rings on her finger, sliding across a throne room, and even a tattoo on her thigh.

Fans also think another scene in the music video may mock Kardashian's Paris robbery. At the end of the music video, a version of Taylor Swift is seen referring to another as a "b----," another callback to West's controversial lyric about the singer in "Famous."

You can read about all the possible references fans spotted in the video to Kardashian and West in our breakdown of the music video here. 

September 3, 2017: Swift releases another single that fans also believe mocks West.

Fans were surprised to hear Swift rap in her new song "...Ready For It," but it was the beginning of the new track that caught listeners off guard. 

The loud, heavy bass that kicks off the song reminded fans of the distorted sounds and drum beats of West's 2013 album, "Yeezus." Others thought it sounded like the beginning of West's "Hell of a Life" from 2010's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy."

For now, West and Kardashian have stayed virtually quiet. According to People, the pair don't really care anymore about the feud and say Swift is simply feuding with herself at this point. We'll have to wait until November 10 when Swift's album drops to see if the singer makes any more comments or references to the rapper or any of her other rivals.

SEE ALSO: Taylor Swift's new single managed to be one of YouTube's most-played songs of the summer after just a few days — here are the others

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