Did Kanye and Kim commit a felony against Taylor Swift?
Kayne West and Taylor Swift are at it again.
Should you have caught any whiff of pop culture over the course of the past two years, you’d be hard-pressed to not see musicians Kanye West and Taylor Swift make headlines together. In the spirit of catching up, several years ago Kanye West stormed the stage and stole the microphone during Swift’s VMA acceptance speech. Kanye essentially declared Swift undeserving, saying her award should have went to fellow musician Beyoncé.
This incident got tons of media attention and set the stage for the Taylor Swift- Kanye West feud which was reignited this week.
Kayne West recently released a new song in which he has a sexually suggestive lyric with Swift’s name in it. West called Swift to ask permission to use her name in the lyric, which she agreed. Kanye West’s wife Kim Kardashian filmed the telephone called without the consent of Swift. The video of the recorded phone call hit the web this week, rehashing the feud between the two superstar musicians.
In doing so, both Kayne West and Kim Kardashian broke the law, and could face felony charges.
Like Florida, California, is a “two party consent” state– meaning that it is a crime to secretly record someone without their permission. This law applies to private conversations, such as a phone call — a California appellate court has ruled that this statute applies to the use of hidden video cameras to record conversations as well. See California v. Gibbons, 215 Cal. App. 3d 1204 (Cal Ct. App. 1989).
Here at the Kendrick Law Group, we want to help educate the community on laws that could impact your life. In Florida, Kim Kardashian and Kanye could face felony charges with up to 5 years in prison, 5 years probation or a $5,000 fine.
In summary, it is illegal to secretly record someone without their permission! Should you have an issue that requires legal attention, don’t hesitate to give us a call.
Want to relive a timeline of the Swift-West face off? Click here.