In the midst of the on-going fallout between Taylor Swift and Kimye over ‘Famous’, legal experts claim that Kanye could face a civil lawsuit in California if it turns out he secretly recorded the phone call that Kim released at the weekend.

35 year old Kim triggered a social media furore after she published an audio clip of her husband’s phone call with Swift in which they discussed the rapper’s song and the lyrics therein, which included a line about her. In the controversial track, Kanye raps: “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b**** famous.”

Kanye WestKanye West's feud with Taylor Swift has deepened ever further over the last few days

When it was released back in February on his latest album The Life of Pablo, Kanye faced scrutiny for what many saw as the misogyny in the lyrics. He defended it at the time on Twitter, saying: “I called Taylor and had a hour long convo with her about the line and she thought it was funny and gave her blessings.”

It would appear that it’s this conversation that Kim released a clip from, as she and her husband have begun attacking Swift by releasing excerpts of their talk. Kanye can be heard detailing only a fragment of the lyrics in question. “I really appreciate you telling me about it, that’s really nice,” the 26 year old hitmaker can be heard replying.

More: Taylor Swift responds to Kim Kardashian sharing audio of her phone call with Kanye over ‘Famous’ track

Swift has since responded via Twitter on Sunday (July 17th), saying that Kanye’s call was “secretly” recorded and that she never heard the “I made that b**** famous” part of the lyric – something that seems to be borne out by Kim’s clip.

“You don’t get to control someone’s emotional response to being called ‘that bitch’ in front of the entire world,” Swift argued in her statement.

However, The Guardian has published an article examining the legal aspects of what seems to have happened – and claims that Kanye’s phone call could have been illegally recorded if it was made in California, as TMZ has already reported.

“California is an ‘all-party consent’ wiretapping state. What that means is, even on things like a conference call, before you record it, you’re supposed to announce to everyone, ‘I’m going to record this call,’” said Chris Hoofnagle, professor of law at the University of California and an expert on privacy.

“There’s civil and criminal liability,” he added. Though a criminal charge was extremely unlikely. Swift could claim extensive damages on reputational grounds, Hoofnagle believes.

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