Taylor Swift has reportedly initiated legal proceedings against Kanye West following a series of crude and unverified social media posts in which the rapper made sexually explicit claims about her and fellow pop stars Harry Styles and Justin Bieber.
According to Daily Mail, the Grammy-winning singer’s legal team sent West a cease-and-desist letter after he alleged in a since-deleted post that Swift had engaged in a sexual encounter with both Styles and Bieber. In the post, shared on April 8, West wrote, “Justin Bieber and Harry Styles f##### Taylor Swift from both sides and didn’t call me,” and added, “I’m mad I haven’t f##### Taylor Swift … yet.”
-X
Swift’s legal representatives condemned the comments as “false, defamatory, and amounting to sexual harassment,” arguing that the intent was to harm her reputation and career. A source cited by the Daily Mail stated, “This time he has gone too far. His claims are not just false, they are defamatory. This isn’t just [West] gossiping. This is [West] sexually harassing a woman, defaming her and intending to cause harm to her and to her career.”
The fallout from the incident has also reportedly sparked a personal response from Swift’s partner, NFL star Travis Kelce, who, according to the outlet, is “furious” and wishes to confront West directly.
Both Harry Styles and Justin Bieber have denied the allegations, with a source close to Bieber calling the claims “100 percent untrue.” Styles is also reportedly prepared to support Swift in any potential legal proceedings.
This development marks the latest chapter in the longstanding feud between Swift and West, which began in 2009 when he interrupted her acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards. The rivalry has seen several public flare-ups since, including West’s controversial lyrics about Swift in his 2016 track Famous.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ