Taylor Swift’s VMAs Absence Explained: Jury Duty

Sept. 13, 2009
The beginning of their beautifully tumultuous "relationship" began at the "MTV Video Music Awards."

Taylor Swift is accepting the award for Best Female Video when Kanye storms the stage, grabbs the mic and says, "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you. Imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time."

Sept. 14, 2009
A distraught Yeezy apologizes to Swift on the "The Jay Leno Show," saying, "It was just very rude, period. I'd like to apologize to her in person."

Also Read: Taylor Swift Threatened Kanye West With Criminal Prosecution Over Recorded Phone Call

June 2013
In a change of heart, Kanye West takes back his apology in an interview with the New York Times saying he doesn't "have one regret." Asked later if he regretted apologizing, he said, "'Dark Fantasy' was my long, backhanded apology."

VMAs 2015
Six years after "the incident,"  Yeezy and Swift are reunited on the VMA's stage -- this time for a different reason. The pop singer presented the rapper with the Vanguard Award. Clearly their friendship is in tact now... or so it seems.

Grammys 2015
Besties again? The two are seen hugging, laughing and posing for pictures together at the 2015 Grammys.

Also Read: Taylor Swift Rips Kanye, Kim for Leaked ‘Famous’ Lyrics Convo (Video)

Feb. 2016
West releases the song "Famous" off his "The Life of Pablo" album, which includes the lyrics, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that bitch famous."

Swift's reps later release a statement to EW, saying the pop-country singer never gave her approval for the song or its "misogynistic" message. 

Later Feb. 2016
Swift accepts the Album of the Year award at the Grammys and throws major shade at Yeezy in her acceptance speech. "There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success," she says, taking a jab at West's "Famous" lyrics.

July 18 2016
Kim Kardashian breaks the internet (again) when she exposes Swift in a Snapchat video. In her snap, Kardashian shows everyone a recorded conversation between the singer and Yeezy in which she agreed to the lyrics about her in "Famous."

Also Read: 5 Takeaways From Kanye West’s Shocking ‘Famous’ Premiere

Later the same day
Swift took to Instagram to insist she never heard the whole song, especially the reference to her as "that bitch." The pop star concluded, "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, one that I never asked to be a part of since 2009."