Taylor Swift Rekindles the Kim Kardashian Rivalry With 'thanK you aIMee'
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“There wouldn’t be this, if there hadn’t been you.” It’s difficult to imagine the Taylor Swift of only eight years ago ever saying such a thing to the media empress Kim Kardashian, but that seems exactly what she’s doing in the surprise Tortured Poets Department track “thanK you aIMee,” which isn’t—shall we say—subtle in its aim at Kardashian. (Peep those capitalized letters in the stylized title.) The TPD bonus song isn’t the first time Swift has publicly addressed her history with the Skims founder, but nor is it an opaque Easter egg only intended for the truest fans. Swift wants to make herself crystal clear: She has emerged from this feud the victor.
Although the spark ignited as early as 2009, the drama between the two hit its peak in 2016, when Kardashian—then married to rapper Kanye West—posted an edited video to Snapchat supposedly depicting Swift approving West’s controversial “Famous” lyrics. The back-and-forth between stars and publicists and fans grew so heated in the following days that Swift ultimately wiped her social media and wrote her infamous Reputation album in response to the scandal.
Now, in 2024, Swifties are eagerly awaiting Reputation (Taylor’s Version), the star’s next re-recording of her original catalog, and “thanK you aIMee” is rekindling the feud (and building the hype). The song features several lyrics that double as thinly veiled swipes at Kardashian: “A bronze spray-tanned statue of you,” of course, targets Kardashian’s notorious penchant for spray tans and heavy contour. “Stomp[ing] across my grave” and “[writing] headlines in the local paper” are clear references to Kardashian “burying” Swift with the Snapchat video, as well as telling outlets like GQ that Swift “totally approved” the “Famous” lyrics. Swift shares that “I changed your name and any real defining clues,” signaling to her fans that the song is not about the supposed “Aimee.”
But perhaps the most searing line reads, “One day, your kid comes home singin’ a song that only us two is gonna know is about you.” Kardashian and her daughter, North West, have posted videos dancing to Swift songs.
Swift’s most recent reference to the feud was in a Time interview, in which she name-dropped Kardashian, saying, “Make no mistake—my career was taken away from me. You have a fully manufactured frame job, in an illegally recorded phone call, which Kim Kardashian edited and then put out to say to everyone that I was a liar. That took me down psychologically to a place I’ve never been before. I moved to a foreign country. I didn’t leave a rental house for a year. I was afraid to get on phone calls. I pushed away most people in my life because I didn’t trust anyone anymore. I went down really, really hard.” And this, it would seem, is only her latest chapter in the comeback.
Read the full lyrics to “thanK you aIMee” below:
When I picture my hometown
There’s a bronze spray-tanned statue of you
And a plaque underneath it
That threatens to push me down the stairs, at our school
And it was always the same searing pain
But I dreamed that one day, I could say
All that time you were throwin’ punches, I was buildin’ somethin’
And I can’t forgive the way you made me feel
Screamed “Fuck you, Aimee” to the night sky, as the blood was gushin’
But I can’t forget the way you made me heal
And it wasn’t a fair fight, or a clean kill
Each time that Aimee stomped across my gravе
And then she wrote hеadlines
In the local paper, laughing at each baby step I’d take
And it was always the same searing pain
But I prayed that one day, I could say
All that time you were throwin’ punches, I was buildin’ somethin’
And I couldn’t wait to show you it was real
Screamed “Fuck you, Aimee” to the night sky, as the blood was gushin’
But I can’t forget the way you made me heal
Everyone knows that my mother is a saintly woman
But she used to say she wished that you were dead
I pushed each boulder up the hill
Your words are still just ringing in my head, ringing in my head
I wrote a thousand songs that you find uncool
I built a legacy which you can’t undo
But when I count the scars, there’s a moment of truth
That there wouldn’t be this, if there hadn’t been you
And maybe you’ve reframed it
And in your mind, you never beat my spirit black and blue
I don’t think you’ve changed much
And so I changed your name, and any real defining clues
And one day, your kid comes home singin’
A song that only us two is gonna know is about you, ’cause—
All that time you were throwin’ punches, it was all for nothin’
And our town, it looks so small, from way up here
Screamed “Thank you, Aimee” to the night sky, and the stars are stunnin’
’Cause I can't forget the way you made me heal
Everyone knows that my mother is a saintly woman
But she used to say she wished that you were dead
So I pushed each boulder up that hill
Your words were still just ringin’ in my head, ringin’ in my head
Thank you, Aimee
Thank you, Aimee
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