The recording of a conversation between Taylor Swift and Kanye West that sparked a huge feud between the pair might have broken the law.
The relationship between West and Swift became something of a public showdown after Kim Kardashian West, Kanye's wife, posted videos that appeared to contradict Swift’s story about a dispute over lyrics about her in the song 'Famous'.
The footage, posted on Snapchat, appears to show West telling Swift about song lyrics that she would later go on to claim she was offended by and hadn’t been informed about in advance.
But the video itself might have broken the law – and could disappear from the internet as a result.
Recording phone calls without the consent of both people involved can break the law in 11 states in the US. One of those is California – where Swift’s legal team has reportedly claimed the call was made from.
A statement from Swift suggested that the call had been “secretly” recorded.
West is known to record much of the process of making each of his albums, for his own personal archives. The footage is initially thought to have been recorded as part of that collection.
But Swift's legal team sent a letter to West's in February, when the dispute began, demanding that all recordings of the conversation were destroyed.
"Demand is hereby made that you immediately destroy all such recordings, provide us assurance that this has been done, and also assurance that these recordings have not been previously disseminated,” the letter read.
The video was posted on Snapchat and so will be automatically removed from Kardashian West's own profile within 24 hours. But it has already been copied and shareed across the web.
Arguments over whether Swift had been told in advance about the lyrics have gone on since February, when the song Famous was released on West's album The Life of Pablo. Swift had claimed that she wasn't told in advance about the song, and Kanye argued that he had in fact asked Taylor for her opinion on the lyrics – the release of the recordings apparently showing Swift being told about the lyrics came after repeated statements to the press on both sides about what happened.
The Independent contacted representatives for West, Swift and Kardashian West for comment.
