Kanye West and Taylor Swift at the 57th Grammys
(Larry Busacca/Getty)

Taylor Swift quietly retitled a song to throw shade at Kanye West

Taylor Swift made a dig at Kanye West by releasing the live version of “thanK you aIMee” with a slight title tweak.

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“thanK you aIMee” was one of the tracks on Swift’s studio album The Tortured Poets Department that garnered the most attention, as it appears to be about Kim Kardashian. After all, the capital letters in the title even spell out “KIM.” The song was the latest development in the longstanding feud between Swift and West and his ex-wife, Kardashian. Over the years, West has displayed an odd fixation on Swift and humiliated and attacked her multiple times. It started with him interrupting her VMA speech in 2009, then progressed to including sexist and gross lyrics and allusions to the singer in his songs and music videos. Meanwhile, when Swift protested her inclusion in his song, Kardashian and West tried to paint her as a liar and claimed she explicitly approved of the song.

Evidence has since suggested that Swift was telling the truth and didn’t approve of West calling her a “b*tch” in his song and taking credit for her fame. “thanK you aIMee” was the singer’s way of further addressing the controversy, sending the message that she’s actually thankful for Kardashian because everything Kardashian did to her made her stronger. However, the song lyrics are flexible and could easily apply to West. Recently, it seemed Swift took advantage of that flexibility to make a statement to West.

Taylor Swift quietly edits “thanK you aIMee” title

On August 15, Swift released the live version of “thanK you aIMee,” which she performed in London during the Eras Tour and mashed up with “Mean.” However, it appears she edited the title on the live version. Instead of “thanK you aIMee,” the title was “thank You aimEe.” The capitalization now spells YE, the shortened version of West’s name, instead of KIM.

The retitle may have been in response to West’s latest stunt. West recently released a joint album with Ty Dolla $ign and Lil Wayne titled Vultures 2. He released the album just days after The Tortured Poets Department dropped, and, unsurprisingly, one track includes a reference to Swift and her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. Lil Wayne raps, “Ice up in my veins, old flames tryna melt me / I twist my Taylor spliffs tight at the end like Travis Kelce.” Although Lil Wayne rapped the lyrics, given his history, it’s reasonable to assume the reference was West’s doing. The bizarre line earned criticism as many are growing tired and even concerned about his obsession with Swift and his inability to leave the singer alone. Even Kelce’s father spoke out and stated that he was genuinely worried for West.

Instead of publicly responding to West name-dropping her a second time in a song without permission, Swift did something better. She let him know that she can do name-drops too with her “thank You aimEe” retitle.


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Rachel Ulatowski
Rachel Ulatowski is a Staff Writer for The Mary Sue, who frequently covers DC, Marvel, Star Wars, literature, and celebrity news. She has over three years of experience in the digital media and entertainment industry, and her works can also be found on Screen Rant, JustWatch, and Tell-Tale TV. She enjoys running, reading, snarking on YouTube personalities, and working on her future novel when she's not writing professionally. You can find more of her writing on Twitter at @RachelUlatowski.