Taylor Swift Blocks Kanye West From No. 1 Debut as ‘Tortured Poets’ Tops ‘Vultures 2’

Taylor Swift‘s The Tortured Poets Department has earned its 14th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, blocking Kanye West — who now goes by “Ye” — and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 2 from a chart-topping debut. 

Billboard reported on Sunday that Swift’s TTPD moved 142,000 equivalent album unites in the U.S. last week. The outlet notes that Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time was the last album to spend 14 weeks at the top of the chart, ultimately spending 19 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 over the course of a year. Before that, Adele’s 21 clocked 24 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 spot between 2011 and 2012. 

Swift, 34, and Ye, 47, have a long-running and well documented public feud. 

Back in February — the rapper pleaded with Swift’s fans that he’s “not your enemy” as the Swifties began a social media movement to support Beyoncé‘s “Texas Hold ‘Em” in an effort to keep West’s songs from reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. At the time, West was promoting the release of Vultures 1, which did debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

“Last year was incredibly challenging for me, my wife, my children, friends and family. I’ve been banned from hotels, kicked out of companies, and not even allowed to eat in some restaurants. Everyone saw Vultures 1 get taken off of platforms to limit our first week numbers. This reminds me of the mistreatment of my people because of the color of our skin,” West wrote at the time in a since-deleted Instagram post. 

He continued, “Remember I was on Taylor’s side when Scooter [Braun] bought her masters behind her back. She and Beyoncé are big inspirations to all musicians. We always say how both sell out tours and movies. Also, I’m sure I’ve been far more helpful to Taylor Swift’s career than harmful. To all Taylor Swift fans, I am not your enemy. Um, I’m not your friend either though LOL.” 

West and Swift’s complicated dynamic dates back to 2009 when the rapper famously crashed the stage and interrupted her acceptance speech during the MTV Video Music Awards to praise Beyoncé. 

West and Swift appeared to have mended fences in 2015 when the pop star presented him with an award, but the relationship soured again the following year when West referenced her in his song “Famous.” After that, Swift publicly objected to his lyric about her and West’s then-wife, Kim Kardashian, leaked a secretly recorded phone call between the performers. 

For her part, Swift emerged in 2017 with a blistering revenge track, “Look What You Made Me Do,” off her Reputation album. In December 2023, she called the incident a “fully manufactured frame job” in an interview with Time. 

In April, the “Karma” singer appeared to take aim at Kardashian again with her TTPD track, “thanK you aIMee.” 

Swift is set to wrap up the European leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour in London with five nights at Wembley Stadium, beginning August 15. It will be her first show since a thwarted terrorist attack led to the cancellation of her planned performances in Vienna, Austria, earlier this month. 

She will again return to the stage on Oct. 18 to kick off another North American leg at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.

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