Kanye West has denied claims that Taylor Swift got him kicked out of the Super Bowl, and said he’s “been far more helpful to her career” than “harmful”.
Earlier this week, ex-NFL star Brandon Marshall claimed that West turned up to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada last Sunday (February 11) donning a mask with his logo on it.
“Kanye West pulls up to Vegas,” Marshall recalled. “Kanye West buys a ticket right in front of [Swift’s] booth.”
He continued: “Taylor Swift gets pissed off. She – boom, boom – makes a call or two. Everybody’s involved. He gets kicked out the stadium. He was trying to leverage her celebrity.”
In a new post on Instagram, West said he “didn’t get kicked out of the Super Bowl” but had left his box to “see different friends” in another section of the stadium.
“My wife [Bianca Censori] had never been to a Super Bowl so I wanted to walk around and have a nice time we had such a fun day,” he wrote.
Elsewhere in the update, the rapper spoke about name-checking Swift in the song ‘Carnival’ from his new collaborative album with Ty Dolla $ign, ‘Vultures 1’.
“I mean since Taylor Swift, (Ha) since I had the Rollie on the wrist (Ha)/ I’m the new Jesus, bitch (Ha)/ I turn water to Cris’ (Ha),” he raps on the track.
“When I said that I’m the new Jesus bitch I wasn’t even thinking about Taylor Swift,” Ye wrote in the post. “That was a whole line before but I appreciate the free promo.”
He added: “Lil Wayne actually mentions Travis Kelsey [sic] on ‘Vultures 2’. This album is actually super positive and fun it’s all about triumphant.”
West also touched on his wider long-standing feud with Swift, which famously began at the 2009 VMAs. However, he discussed having previously supported the ‘Midnights’ pop star when Scooter Braun bought her masters.
“I’m going to personally see to it that Taylor Swift gets her masters back,” West tweeted in 2020. “Scooter is a close family friend.”
In his new post, West wrote: “Remember I was on Taylor’s side when Scooter bought her masters behind her back. She and Beyoncé are big inspirations to all musicians we always say how both sell out tours and movies.
“Also, I’m sure I’ve been far more helpful to Taylor Swift’s career than harmful. To all Taylor Swift fans I am not your enemy uuum im not your friend either though lol.”
During Swift’s speech for winning Best Music Video at the 2009 VMAs, West interrupted the then 19-year-old to announce: “Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!” West apologised shortly afterwards to Swift.
The pair seemed to make amends at the 2015 Grammys, but things quickly soured when West released his ‘Famous’ song and video. There, he rapped about how Swift “owes” him sex and claimed that he “made that bitch famous“. Additionally, he portrayed her nude in bed (via a wax figurine) with a host of other celebrities.
Swift later claimed she was “horrified” by the visuals, and has since written about the debacle in her 2017 album ‘Reputation’.
Late last year, the singer discussed her feud with Kim Kardashian about when the phone call she had with West to discuss ‘Famous’ leaked online.
Meanwhile, West said in his new Instagram post that “last year was incredibly challenging for me, my wife, my children, friends and family”, adding: “I’ve been banned from hotels, kicked out of companies, and even not allowed to eat in some restaurants.”
He continued: “Everyone saw ‘Vultures 1’ get taken off of platforms to limit our first week numbers This reminds me of the mistreatment of my people because of the color of our skin.
“Oh and to Shaq I grew up looking up to you I would love to hang with you and Jamie sometime Jaimie Salter is like a father figure to me.”
West concluded: “The media may control the narrative but the people have spoken.”
In a two-star review of ‘Vultures 1’, NME said that the collection was “mired in misogyny” and “dogged by degrading lyrics and messy mixes”.
It added: “Such misogyny is hardly new in hip-hop – or either artists’ catalogues or the broader musical landscape in general – but that doesn’t make it any less detestable.”