It’s hard to say what would have happened had Kim Kardashian never shared that (heavily edited) video of Taylor Swift and Kanye West discussing his song “Famous.” Would Swift have written her album Reputation? Would the phrase “excluded from this narrative” be completely meaningless? We’ll never know — and maybe, that’s okay. Now that the full video of West and Swift’s conversation has been released — proving Swift wasn’t lying in that infamous note she posted on her Instagram — the singer has a message for everyone.
On Monday, Swift responded to West’s video on her Instagram Story, writing:
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“Instead of answering those who are asking how I feel about the video footage that was leaked, proving that I was telling the truth the whole time about that call (you know, the one that was illegally recorded, that somebody edited and manipulated in order to frame me, and put me, my family, my and fans through hell for 4 years)...SWIPE UP to see what really matters.”
Swift then linked to the World Health Organization, which is currently collecting donations for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Per the website, the fund is a “secure way for individuals, philanthropies, and businesses to contribute to the WHO-led effort to respond to the pandemic.” In a follow-up story, Swift shared she is also donating to Feed America, a nonprofit committed to ending child hunger.
Swift is right: This is a scary time for many people, especially those who are particularly vulnerable to complications from the coronavirus and those suffering from the economic impacts of the current situation. The full-length version of this phone call feels a little inconsequential now.
That being said, Swift’s response to her fans indicates exactly how she feels about this video leaking. So do Tumblr posts, supporting Swift’s side of the story, that Swift allegedly liked in the wake of the video’s release. She couldn’t resist reminding people why she was so upset about Kardashian’s initial sharing of the video in 2017: It painted Swift as a liar, when she knew she wasn’t one. In her Netflix documentary Miss Americana, she even spoke of the devastating impact being “cancelled” had on her mental health.
If Swift is smiling a little bit that she finally got some long-awaited vindication, well, that’s understandable...even if it’s not the most important thing happening in the world.