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Image via Tidal
Yesterday evening, Kanye West premiered the video for his The Life of Pablo single “Famous,” a song known by more for that controversial Taylor Swift line than anything else at the Los Angeles Forum.
The visuals depict a select group of celebrities—Kim Kardashian, Ray J, Amber Rose, Anna Wintour, Caitlyn Jenner, Bill Cosby, Rihanna, Chris Brown, George W. Bush, Donald Trump, and Kanye himself—fully nude and sharing a bed together. Kanye revealed later that the imagery (and particularly the final tableau) was inspired by artist Vincent Desiderio’s “Sleep,” and that the video was “a comment on fame.”
Others, however, especially the celebrities whose likenesses are featured, may not see this as an artistic statement and take offence. But it appears that any negative response (or legal action taken) is something that Kanye is expecting, sending out a taunting tweet earlier today.
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The lyric “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that bitch famous” spawned a renewed feud between Kanye and Taylor when the song was released back in February. Kanye insists that Taylor had given her approval of the line; Taylor’s team deny that they had ever spoken. Kim Kardashian recently claimed in her GQ cover story that there is actual footage of Taylor “totally [approving]” the lyric.
The only person who has spoken up about the video at this point is Chris Brown, who took to Instagram to give Kanye credit for his “talent.”
Watch Kanye’s video for “Famous” below, or on Tidal.
