The Biggest Kanye West Controversies With Celebs Of All Time

Kanye "Ye" West seems to lap up bad blood pretty much everywhere he goes. Although the rapper has found himself at the center of countless controversies over the years, none have been quite as publicized as his beef with Taylor Swift. It all started in 2009 when the "Jesus Walks" hitmaker interrupted her Best Female Video Award speech at the VMAs to assert that Beyoncé deserved to take the trophy home more. In her 2020 Netflix documentary "Miss Americana," Swift admitted that she didn't initially realize that the booing after West's interruption was intended for him, internalizing the moment as being directed at her instead. The incident ultimately became a massive mental scar for the "Cruel Summer" songstress because she had built her self-worth solely on external praise. 

Speaking to ABC Radio in 2009, the Grammy winner confirmed that West had genuinely apologized to her in the interim, and Swift had graciously accepted. The following year, she performed her song "Innocent" at the VMAs. The emotional track's lyrics found the pop star taking an empathetic perspective on West's actions and forgiving him. However, in 2013, the "Runaway" singer abruptly rescinded his apology during a chat with the New York Times, saying, "I don't have one regret. If anyone's reading this waiting for some type of full-on, flat apology for anything, they should just stop reading right now." 

He continued, "I have, as a human being, fallen to peer pressure." Still, West's nemesis found it in herself to forgive the rapper and they became friends after reuniting at the 2015 Grammys. Back then, the "Cardigan" hitmaker had no idea that she'd made a grave mistake with the reconciliation.

Kanye West effectively derailed his friendship with Taylor Swift with the release of his song "Famous" in 2016. In the eyebrow-raising track, the rapper essentially posited that Swift was indebted to him for her success with the lyrics, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b*** famous." The "Love Story" hitmaker publicly called West out in her impassioned Album of The Year acceptance speech at the 2016 Grammys by advising young female artists to pay no mind to men "who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame," (via YouTube). 

In June of that year, Kim Kardashian, West's then-wife, informed GQ that Swift had enthusiastically consented to the offensive lyric. Although a spokesperson for the "Wildest Dreams" songstress acknowledged that she had spoken to West about it in January, they still labeled some of Kardashian's claims as inaccurate. The Yeezy founder then stirred the pot considerably by releasing the music video for "Famous," which featured a naked Swift sculpture lying beside him in bed. 

Then, the reality star posted an edited phone call, where Swift gave her blessing for the lyric: "I feel like Taylor Swift might owe me sex." Shortly afterward, the "Bad Blood" hitmaker took to Instagram to defend herself by clarifying that she hadn't heard the finished song and never agreed to be called "that b****." Swift's feud with West and Kardashian hurt her more than anybody realized since it brought tidal waves of backlash with the potential to end her career.

In February 2021, Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Kanye West after six years of marriage. Amid reports asserting that they were still on good terms, an insider dished to Page Six that the "Stronger" hitmaker had changed his number and informed his estranged wife that she could reach out to him only through his security, even though they had four kids to manage. Still, the SKIMS founder remained publicly supportive of her ex-husband in the following months. However, things took a turn for the worse in January 2022 when Kanye appeared on "Hollywood Unlocked" and claimed that Kardashian's security had denied him entry into her house after their eldest invited him there. A few days later, the Grammy winner appeared on Instagram Live to complain that nobody would tell him the location of his daughter, Chicago West's, fourth birthday party either. 

The "Heartless" singer subsequently shared another post, blasting his ex-wife for allowing North West to post TikTok videos without his approval. Kardashian then shared her own Instagram Story, where she pointed out that Kanye's "obsession with trying to control and manipulate our situation so negatively and publicly is only causing further pain for all," defending herself and their children against his attacks, per Today. Kanye then accused his ex-wife of trying to "kidnap" their daughter, raging, "You put security on me inside of the house to play with my son then accused me of stealing. I had to take a drug test after Chicago's party 'cause you accused me of being on drugs," (via The Independent).

Kanye West wasn't exactly pleased when Kim Kardashian started dating "Saturday Night Live" alum Pete Davidson — and he let everyone know. In January 2022, West collaborated with fellow rapper The Game on "Eazy," a track where West expressed his frustrations about his family life, including a diss aimed at Davidson with the lyrics, "God saved me from that crash, just so I can beat Pete Davidson's a** (Who?)" The following month, he shared an Instagram post urging people to cherish their families because a man like Davidson (whom he infamously labeled "Skete") would inevitably try to tear them apart. 

Shortly afterward, the "Gold Digger" hitmaker shared another Instagram post, purportedly of a text message from Davidson, where the actor reassured him that he wouldn't interfere with his coparenting relationship with Kardashian. However, the controversial rapper evidently wasn't interested in having an amicable relationship with the former "SNL" star, as he captioned the post: "No, you will never meet my children" (via X, formerly known as Twitter). West went on to release an eerie animated music video for "Eazy," which featured him murdering and burying a figure that bore a striking resemblance to Davidson. 

The bizarre clip ended with "Everyone lived happily ever after" followed by "except Skete" with his name crossed out and "JK You Know Who." In August 2022, an insider confessed to People that Davidson had to undergo "trauma therapy" to deal with all the drama, noting, "The attention and negativity coming from Kanye and his antics is a trigger for [Pete], and he's had to seek out help."

Kanye West and Jay-Z once shared a brotherly bond. However, their relationship appeared to be on the rocks in May 2014, as the "Run This Town" rapper and his famous wife, Beyoncé, skipped out on West's lavish nuptials to Kim Kardashian. During a wide-ranging interview with Charlamagne tha God, the "Violent Crimes" rapper explained that although he understood that the Carters had a lot on their plates at the time, he still took their snub to heart and it ultimately ignited a massive rift between the former collaborators.

West seemingly confirmed his feud with Jay-Z during a concert in 2016 by ranting about how someone he once considered a brother only made a courtesy call to check in on him after Kardashian got robbed at gunpoint in Paris. At the time, a confidant contended to Page Six that the rappers' bond wasn't all that strong in the first place, confirming, "Jay can't stand him." They continued, "He looks at him as this crazy, eccentric motherf**** he can tolerate in small doses. Kanye is a nut job. Everyone knows that." 

During a 2017 appearance on the "RapRadar" podcast, the "Empire State Of Mind" hitmaker proclaimed that West hit below the belt by mentioning his family during the rant. Jay-Z also shared that their relationship was prone to disagreements, but none had affected them as gravely as this very public callout. Jay-Z then name-dropped his former friend on "Kill JAY-Z," off his 2017 album, "4:44." The following month, the "Field Trip" rapper exited Jay-Z's streaming service Tidal. Despite everything, the pair still seemed happy to see each other when they reunited at Diddy's birthday party in 2019.

Once upon a time, Kanye West and Drake were incredibly supportive of each other, with the exception of the odd diss in their music and interviews, which was seemingly all in good fun. But their relationship took a major hit in 2018 when one of West's recent collaborators, Pusha T, shockingly revealed that Drake had secretly fathered a child on his track, "The Story of Adidon." Soon, people began to speculate that the "Bound 2" singer had disclosed the secret to Pusha T since West had reportedly also worked with Drake earlier in the year in Wyoming. 

However, the divisive star took to X to clear the air and deny the allegations. Then, a few months later, the OVO founder appeared on "The Shop" podcast and stoked the rumors by stating that he had played West "March 14," a track where he alluded to his son, during their collaborative session in Wyoming. Drake further noted that West had called him into a writing session under the guise of mentorship and had proceeded to manipulate Drake into revealing things about his family and career while keeping his cards about his own releases close to his chest. 

It's worth noting that Pusha T later appeared on "The Joe Budden Podcast" and professed that he had learned of Adonis' existence through Drake's producer Noah "40" Shebib. Still, West and Drake continued to spark mini feuds as the years went by. In fact, in 2023, the Canadian rapper's release, "Search and Rescue," even featured an excerpt of Kim Kardashian discussing her divorce from West from an episode of her family's hit reality show, in an apparent dig.