No bad blood this time around! Kanye West is “not going” to the 2018 American Music Awards on Tuesday, October 9, a source tells Us Weekly exclusively.
Some fans on Twitter have been speculating that the rapper, 41, may make a surprise appearance during Taylor Swift’s opening performance of her song “I Did Something Bad.” However, the source tells Us that West “would not come out with Taylor even if he were” at the ceremony.
This will be Swift’s first performance at an awards show in nearly three years. She is nominated for Artist of the Year, going up against her pal Ed Sheeran, Drake, Post Malone and Imagine Dragons.
After the pop star, 28, released her album Reputation in November 2017, many of her dedicated Swifties pointed out that the lyrics to “I Did Something Bad” seemed to reference her long-running feud with West.
“I never trust a narcissist, but they love me / So I play ‘em like a violin / And I make it look oh so easy,” the song begins. Later on, she sings, “They got their pitchforks and proof, their receipts and reasons.”
The drama between West and Swift began in 2009 when he interrupted her acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards. They made amends on stage at the same event in 2015, but the beef started again the following year when his wife, Kim Kardashian, called the singer-songwriter a snake on social media. Swift also took issue with the MC referring to her as a “bitch” in his song “Famous.”
“If someone uses name-calling to bully you on social media, and even if a lot of people jump on board with it, that doesn’t have to defeat you,” the “Shake It Off” singer told the audience during the first night of her Reputation tour in May, alluding to the feud. “It can strengthen you instead.”
More recently, West came under fire for ranting in support of President Donald Trump during his appearance on Saturday Night Live. He later tweeted that the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, should be repealed before clarifying that he meant amended.
The 2018 American Music Awards, which will be hosted by Black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater, air live on ABC on Tuesday, October 9, at 8 p.m. ET.
