Taylor Swift just got the last laugh in her near two decade-long feud with Kanye West. Billboard announced on Sunday, August 11, Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department , claimed the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart for the 14th non-consecutive week. Meanwhile, West’s collaborative project with Ty Dolla $ign, Vultures 2 — released last week — secured the runner-up spot.
This effectively ended Ye’s 19-year streak of number one album debuts, with 11 of his 13 consecutive albums previously debuting at number one. Swift’s victory is the latest chapter in a decade-long feud, which began with West snatching the mic from her as she received the best female video VMA award in 2009, stealing her spotlight to shout-out Beyonce’s Single Ladies . West and his then-wife Kim Kardashian only fueled the flame following his 2016 song, Famous , where he infamously rapped, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have s**, I made that b*** famous.
” When Swift took issue with this, Kardashian publicly released ‘altered’ clips from a phone call that painted Swift as a "snake" in the public's eyes. Meanwhile, Swift went into hiding. In her 2023 Time 's Person of the Year profile, she opened up about “going down psychologically to a place [she’s] never been before.
” “I went down really, really hard,” she admitted. Most recently, Swift appeared to take a swipe at Kardashian in her TTPD track, thanK you aIMee . Though the reality star hasn’t responded, West’s song Lifestyle (Demo) from Vultures 2 saw Lil Wayne name-drop not only Swift but also her boyfriend, NFL star Travis Kelce.
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