Last night Kim Kardashian — current reality TV star and former sex tape — embarrassed the hell out of Taylor Swift by proving that the girl-pop diva is, in fact, a huge liar. Kim posted a recording of Kanye having a phone conversation with Tay, thus proving that she was totally cool with him referencing her in his song “Famous.” Swift responded with the usual “pity me!” damage control, saying “I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, one that I have never asked to be a part of, since 2009.”
OK, Taylor. Like you haven’t milked any of this Kanye-Vs-Taylor beef for your own personal celebrity gain.
Kim and Kanye may have scored a W by making Taylor look like a liar. But there’s a legal issue with the recording itself that may cause Swift to walk away with a nice sum of cash from Kimye.
California is a two-party consent state for recording a private conversation. According to TMZ, Taylor’s lawyer threatened Kim and Kanye back in February that “under California law, anyone who secretly records a telephone conversation with someone in the state commits a criminal offense.” This isn’t a parking ticket offense, either — It’s a felony. Here’s how Fast Company breaks it down:
But as new details emerge about the January phone call between Swift and West, which lies at the center of the tension, it now appears possible that “Kimye” violated California state law by recording the pivotal “that bitch” conversation without Swift’s approval. In most states, it’s legal to record a conversation in secret as long as you’re not eavesdropping, a policy known as one-party consent. But in California—West was in a Los Angeles recording studio at the time of the call, Swift was on vacation with her family—you need to obtain approval from all parties to the conversation before hitting the red button.
Not sure how prosecutor would handle such a case. This is something you literally learn in every journalism/media studies 101 class, usually your freshman year of college.
There’s also a HIGHLY PLAUSIBLE reality that Taylor is “in” on the whole thing since this made-for-TV drama involving some of the biggest celebrities in the world is just a little too perfectly scripted.
Oh, and in case you make a practice of recording your friends regularly on social media. Know that here are the following two-party consent states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington.