It’s been a few days since the Knicks won the NBA Championship, and many of us haven’t stopped screaming like JLo over the happy news. But as we look back on the playoffs — Taylor Swift’s girl gang of punny shirts, Tina Fey’s reaction to Timothée Chalamet’s manspreading, etc. — there’s one moment we can’t get over. Swift and Kylie Jenner shared a friendly hug on the court after Game 4, and insiders are weighing in on what that means for Swift’s feud with the Kardashian-Jenner family.
The feud between Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West technically dates back to 2009 when the rapper interrupted Swift’s acceptance speech at the VMAs, but it was his song “Famous” that really ramped up the drama with some offensive lyrics that mentioned Swift’s name. According to an insider, Swift’s kindness toward Kardashian’s little sister shouldn’t be seen as an olive branch toward the whole family, as Naughty But Nice blogger Rob Shuter said:
Taylor wasn’t going to ignore Kylie in front of thousands of people. She hugged her, smiled, and kept moving. That’s who Taylor is. She takes the high road.
Both celebrities were in top spirits when they crossed paths, given they’d just witnessed a historic Game 4 comeback victory from the New York Knicks, but that allegedly shouldn’t be misconstrued as friendliness, as another source said:
A hug is not forgiveness, and it’s definitely not friendship. What Kim Kardashian and Kanye West did to Taylor is something she’ll never completely forget.
The topic came up as recently as 2023, when Taylor Swift was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. The Reputation artist recalled how she’d pushed back against the offensive lyrics in “Famous,” only to have Kim Kardashian — Ye’s wife at the time — release edited footage of a phone call that appeared to show Swift giving her consent. Taylor Swift went dark and fled the country. She called it “a career death,” in that Time article: “Make no mistake—my career was taken away from me.” Swift said:
- "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." - Taylor Swift in Time
Taylor Swift has since rebuilt her image — thanks, in part, to leaked video of the unedited call that proved she hadn’t been lying — but that doesn’t necessarily mean all is well between her and Kim Kardashian. Another source told Rob Shuter:
Taylor has made peace with the past because she refuses to live in it. But she also doesn’t rewrite history. The scars are still there.
Looking at a video of the hug between the “Opalite” singer and Kylie Jenner, it’s really not the warmest of hugs — I can see a hint of awkwardness there, like when Jenner ran into Timothée’s sister Pauline Chalamet at the Oscars. It’s not like Taylor Swift spoke to Jenner before that, and they likely won’t be seen hanging out again, but they’re both adults who can be in the same arena without causing drama. As yet another source put it:
Taylor was polite. That’s very different from being close. Kylie shouldn’t confuse good manners with a wedding invitation.
I highly, highly doubt she did.
You can see more of Kylie Jenner and her family by streaming The Kardashians with a Hulu subscription, and relive all of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour goodness with concert specials and a docuseries available to stream with a Disney+ subscription.
