Entertainment

Taylor Swift's Not-So-Subtle Nod To North West In thanK You aIMee Has Everyone Saying The Same Thing

By Emily Hutchinson/

Taylor Swift dropped "The Tortured Poets Department" on April 19, 2024, and while fans were expecting to hear songs about her ex, Joe Alwyn, one person they maybe weren't expecting to pop up was Kim Kardashian's daughter, North West. 

Fans have been speculated about what — or, more importantly, who — the songs on the album are about, and one big theory is that the track "thanK you aIMee" was written about Kim Kardashian and references her and Kanye West's daughter, North West. Released as part of the deluxe version of the album titled "The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology," the track's title has some interesting capitalized letters, spelling out KIM. It equally has some very telling lyrics. In the song, Swift not-so-subtly sings, "I changed your name and any real defining clues. And one day, your kid comes home singin' a song that only us two is gonna know is about you."

Many fans pointed out on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Swift appeared to reference North West and her love for making TikToks. In fact, it was in a TikTok video that she opened up about her learning disability. One X user wrote, "what are the odds of north west posting a tiktok with thanK you aIMee." Another tweeted, "i can't wait for north west to post her video dancing to thanK you aIMee." A third teased, "I wonder what North West's favourite track on #TTPD is? I think she'd like thanK you aIMee, but maybe that's just me."

Taylor Swift's sings about a bully on thanK you aIMee

Don Arnold/tas24/Getty Images

North West and Kim Kardashian have already used Swift's music on TikTok, dancing to "Shake It Off" together in a since deleted video posted in 2023 (via Teen Vogue). It's also worth noting that Kim Kardashian's niece, Kourtney Kardashian's daughter Penelope Disick, is a Swiftie, as she's been spotted wearing a Swift hoodie on social media.

"ThanK you aIMee" is all about someone who bullied Swift — and there are more than a few other hints she's singing about Kardashian. "When I picture my hometown/There's a bronze spray-tanned statue of you/And a plaque underneath it/That threatens to push me down the stairs, at our school," Swift sings. Though California isn't Swift's home state like it is Kardashian's and they didn't go to school together, we know Swift has homes in California and "school" may refer to her seeing Kardashian at events when she was younger. The "bronze spray-tanned" reference? Kardashian's undoubtedly a spray tan fan. Swift also sings, "And then she wrote hеadlines/In the local paper, laughing at each baby step I'd take," which appears to reference Kardashian's past public comments about her.

Swift and Kardashian's feud goes back years, and Swift has made no secret of how hurt she was over the drama that stemmed from that notorious Kanye West song, "Famous." Swift even told Time in December 2023 of the drama, "That took me down psychologically to a place I've never been before."

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