Kanye West Crashes VMA Stage During Taylor Swift's Award Speech

Kanye West Crashes VMA Stage During Taylor Swift's Award Speech
Kanye continues his history of onstage award-show rants.

By Jayson Rodriguez, with additional reporting by James Montgomery

This year, Kanye West picked the beginning of the Video Music Awards to deliver one of his famous rants.

The rapper stormed the stage just after the first award, for Best Female Video, was presented to Taylor Swift. He cut the teen singer off, grabbing the mic and protesting in support of Beyoncé.

"I'm sorry, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time," he proclaimed as B looked on from the crowd, stunned.

During the 2007 VMAs in Las Vegas, West delivered another rant and lost his temper after he was displeased with his performance being set inside a hotel suite rather than on the show's main stage.

'Ye's rants are usually in support of his own work. He memorably took the stage at the American Music Awards in 2004, declaring he was robbed of the Best New Artist nod.

His protest against Swift, however, was not well received. West stood briefly on the stage after his comments as the crowd was silent. Audience members then began to clap in support of Swift after West left the stage.

According to reports from inside the house, once cameras cut away from the action, West flipped off the crowd and returned to his seat. During the next commercial break, Pink walked by the rapper and appeared to shake her head in disgust before security escorted her away. West remained steadfast amidst the commotion as he kissed his girlfriend Amber Rose.

credit: mtv.com

Here's the video:



WHAT A JERK!

haha gotta love Kanye.

I mean ya if was rude but it was kind of true...Beyonce was better.

Well even if Beyonce' makes great Music Videos, that was still no way to embarass Taylor Swift and he deserves to get booed.

But he's Kanye he's better then Swift and Beyonce combined yo.

I don't even like his music, nor do I listen to it.

This guy says it best.

Quote :

Kanye West Has Truly Lost It This Time
Posted 27 minutes ago by Billy Johnson, Jr. in Hip-Hop Media Training
You know that saying, it takes a village to raise a child?
Apparently, Kanye's village has failed him. He obviously doesn't have a real friend in the world. There does not appear to be anyone who can get through to him, to make him understand that he needs to curb his obnoxious behavior.
I thought it was a joke when Kanye showed up on the MTV Video Music Awards stage next to Taylor Swift, right in the middle of her acceptance speech for Best Female Video for "You Belong With Me." It was the first Moon Man for the 19-year-old country starlet, who has become an equally huge star in the pop world.
Click here to watch Kanye's outburt.
"I always dreamed about what it would be like to win one of these one day," Taylor said with surprise. "I never thought it would happen."
As Taylor continued, Kanye interrupted, saying he thought Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video was wrongly overlooked. "Hey Taylor, I'm really happy for you, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time."
Taylor looked humiliated. I felt humiliated for her. The audience booed him, and gave her a standing ovation.
I didn't expect Taylor to win that award, and I'm not upset about Kanye's opinion. However, bum-rushing the stage wasn't the appropriate time and place to express his disagreement.
Not only was Kanye's approach disrespectful, it was especially disrespectful because it was directed towards a woman--a teenage girl, actually. Taylor won't turn 20 until December. I can only imagine how her father feels. I'm sure he would like to have a talk to Kanye. I'm not related to her, and I'd like to have a talk with him.
If Kanye wants people to win the awards he thinks they deserve, he should create his own event. He should name it after his website, KanyeUniversecity.com, and webcast it.
Kanye is a guest at the MTV Video Music Awards. He does not determine the winners. The winners are determined by popular vote. Furthermore, aside from the fact that Taylor Swift is a top-selling artist, who has revolutionized teen country pop, she did not have any competition in this category as her competitors Beyonce, Lady GaGa, Pink, and Kelly Clarkson split the pop vote. Taylor had to get 100 percent of the country vote, plus some of the pop vote as well.
It's simple math that even a "College Dropout" should be able to figure out.
Ironically, a MTV writer joked that Kanye's rant was an indication that he might be inebriated. "Kanye West ruins Taylor Swift's big moment," the MTV.com editor wrote. "Further proof that he's on the Hennessy. In my humble opinion, that is."
MTV also reported that Perez Hilton and Hayley Williams started a #TeamTaylor trend on Twitter.
Pink tweeted about her annoyance with Kanye. "Kanye West is the biggest piece of sh-t on earth. Quote me," she wrote. "My heart goes out to Taylor Swift. She is a sweet and talented girl, and deserved her moment. She should know we all love her."
Kanye has previously made award show rants about Gretchen Wilson, Justice and Simian, as well as Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, but this was the worst.
I give credit to Taylor. She handled it gracefully. The audience countered him by giving her a standing ovation, and booed Kanye throughout the night whenever his name was mentioned.
Taylor performed "You Belong With Me" live just minutes later. I watched, wondering if she would feel flustered, and if it would show in her performance. But it didn't.
I think she channeled that negative energy into a positive. Good for her.
Fortunately, Taylor got another chance to complete her acceptance speech. When Beyonce accepted the Best Video Award for "Single Ladies," she invited Taylor back on stage.
"Wow, this is amazing," Beyonce said when receiving her award. "I remember being 17-years-old and up for my first MTV award with Destiny's Child. It was one of the most exciting moments in my life. So, I'd like for Taylor to come out and have her moment."
Taylor then joined Beyonce on stage and recited her acceptance speech, only making a subtle reference to the incident. Before rattling off her special thanks, she said, "Maybe we can try this again."
Still, MTV should have thrown Kanye out of the event. Had any other heckler had the audacity to interrupt the broadcast, they would have been thrown out and probably charged. He should not be treated any differently.
This dude needs help.

There is nothing more to say about Kanye. That guys ego is way beyond his talent. Taylor Swift should have sacked him and finished her speach. West gets all kinds of awards, god knows why, and he had no business getting up there when Swift was giving her speach. This really speaks of the disrespect that hip hop culture has taught people.

CJ, I'm glad that we can agree on this.

Thanks for the interview

and also, when Beyonce' won the award, she let Taylor have her moment

Now THAT is a person with class and dignity

God Bless Beyonce'

and also, alot of people were talking about that on Facebook, and I'm on there, too and I will post my thoughts on this later on.

again, Thanks for the Statement CJ.

I give you Thumbs Up for it.

I like Kanye, I like his music.. but there was no need for him to do this. Does it really matter if Beyonce's video was better? Big deal, Taylor won, he should have accepted that. It didn't even really have anything to do with him, either..

I think Kanye West is an incredibly talented rapper and producer but his ego is massive. He's a real jerk most of the time and this incident backs that up. This shouldn't reflect badly on hip-hop though because 1) West is more R'n'B or as he calls it 'pop art' now anyway and 2) this is one example from many rappers who haven't done anything as disrespectful at award shows. West is seriously conceited. But hey, at least Beyonce was classy. For the record, I enjoy Taylor Swift and Beyonce's music too.

Every award show encident reflects badly on the entire industry and this is not the first time West has put himself in the middle of controversy. For example, he attacked a paparazi at an airport. Wether or not the guy should have been shooting photos of West is not the question becuase it was in a public place and West is a public figure. West also made the Katrina Benifet all about Kanye when he said "George Bush hates black people." From then on, the show was about what Kanye said and not about raising money for the hurricane victims. Kanye West also appear on the cover of Rolling Stone, in a crown of thorns, depecting himself as Jesus. These are just a few of the times that West has made his own controversy. Behavior like this should be saved for the Hip Hop Source Awards. The can put West on right after the shoot out portion of the show.

I also fail to see were the talent is. He can't sing worth a damn, doesn't play an insturment, doesn't read sheet music, therefore he can't right a song. Any "music" in a Kanye West song comes from someone else. I have heard him sing and it is brutal...

West should have been thrown out of the event, no question and they should have shut him down before he got to say anything. Cut the mic, go commercial, and then let Swift finish her speach. It was very classy for Beyonce to give Swift her time and you tell by the look her face, when West brought up her name, she was horrified.

This are the actions of a man that thinks he is far more important then he really is, but this rediculious display will only fuel his record sales because this is the kind of thing that sells to his audience. There will be a bunch of Kanye apologist trying to explain away his intentions, but his intentions were clear. He was promotiong himself in a moment that had nothing to do with him.

All he has really done is perpetuate sterotypse and expose himself for the fraud that he is. West once said that he was bigger then Elvis and that hip hop would be bigger then the Beatles. Comments like that display his arrogance. West is a douche bag narcissist. Calling him a muscian takes away from real muscians. His only contributions to music are rythming words and being a douche bag narcissist. Both of which, we can live without.

Well here's more:

Kanye West Has Truly Lost It This Time
Posted Sun Sep 13, 2009 9:08pm PDT
by Billy Johnson, Jr. in Hip-Hop Media Training

You know that saying, it takes a village to raise a child?
Apparently, Kanye's village has failed him. He obviously doesn't have a real friend in the world. There does not appear to be anyone who can get through to him, to make him understand that he needs to curb his obnoxious behavior.

I thought it was a joke when Kanye showed up on the MTV Video Music Awards stage next to Taylor Swift, right in the middle of her acceptance speech for Best Female Video for "You Belong With Me." It was the first Moon Man for the 19-year-old country starlet, who has become an equally huge star in the pop world.

"I always dreamed about what it would be like to win one of these one day," Taylor said with surprise. "I never thought it would happen."

As Taylor continued, Kanye interrupted, saying he thought Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video was wrongly overlooked. "Hey Taylor, I'm really happy for you, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time."

Taylor looked humiliated. I felt humiliated for her. The audience booed him, and gave her a standing ovation.

I didn't expect Taylor to win that award, and I'm not upset about Kanye's opinion. However, bum-rushing the stage wasn't the appropriate time and place to express his disagreement.
Not only was Kanye's approach disrespectful, it was especially disrespectful because it was directed towards a woman--a teenage girl, actually. Taylor won't turn 20 until December. I can only imagine how her father feels. I'm sure he would like to have a talk to Kanye. I'm not related to her, and I'd like to have a talk with him.

If Kanye wants people to win the awards he thinks they deserve, he should create his own event. He should name it after his website, KanyeUniversecity.com, and webcast it.

Kanye is a guest at the MTV Video Music Awards. He does not determine the winners. The winners are determined by popular vote. Furthermore, aside from the fact that Taylor Swift is a top-selling artist, who has revolutionized teen country pop, she did not have any competition in this category as her competitors Beyonce, Lady GaGa, Pink, and Kelly Clarkson split the pop vote. Taylor had to get 100 percent of the country vote, plus some of the pop vote as well.

It's simple math that even a "College Dropout" should be able to figure out.

Ironically, a MTV writer joked that Kanye's rant was an indication that he might be inebriated. "Kanye West ruins Taylor Swift's big moment," the MTV.com editor wrote. "Further proof that he's on the Hennessy. In my humble opinion, that is."
MTV also reported that Perez Hilton and Hayley Williams started a #TeamTaylor trend on Twitter.

Pink tweeted about her annoyance with Kanye. "Kanye West is the biggest piece of sh-t on earth. Quote me," she wrote. "My heart goes out to Taylor Swift. She is a sweet and talented girl, and deserved her moment. She should know we all love her."
Kanye has previously made award show rants about Gretchen Wilson, Justice and Simian, as well as Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, but this was the worst.

I give credit to Taylor. She handled it gracefully. The audience countered him by giving her a standing ovation, and booed Kanye throughout the night whenever his name was mentioned.
Taylor performed "You Belong With Me" live just minutes later. I watched, wondering if she would feel flustered, and if it would show in her performance. But it didn't.
I think she channeled that negative energy into a positive. Good for her.

Fortunately, Taylor got another chance to complete her acceptance speech. When Beyonce accepted the Best Video Award for "Single Ladies," she invited Taylor back on stage.
"Wow, this is amazing," Beyonce said when receiving her award. "I remember being 17-years-old and up for my first MTV award with Destiny's Child. It was one of the most exciting moments in my life. So, I'd like for Taylor to come out and have her moment."

Taylor then joined Beyonce on stage and recited her acceptance speech, only making a subtle reference to the incident. Before rattling off her special thanks, she said, "Maybe we can try this again."

After the awards, Kanye posted an apology to Taylor on his website, KanyeUniversecity.com. "I'M SOOOOO SORRY TO TAYLOR SWIFT AND HER FANS AND HER MOM," Kanye wrote on his site, AP reported. "I SPOKE TO HER MOTHER RIGHT AFTER AND SHE SAID THE SAME THING MY MOTHER WOULD'VE SAID. SHE IS VERY TALENTED!"

Still, MTV should have thrown Kanye out of the event. Had any other heckler had the audacity to interrupt the broadcast, they would have been thrown out and probably charged. He should not be treated any differently.

This dude needs help.

credit: new.music.yahoo.com

Concrete Jesus wrote:

I also fail to see were the talent is. He can't sing worth a damn, doesn't play an insturment, doesn't read sheet music, therefore he can't right a song. Any "music" in a Kanye West song comes from someone else. I have heard him sing and it is brutal...

1) write, not right.
2) what you consider good singing isn't fact.
3) in my opinion, many rock bands' singing sounds terrible. I consider Mariah Carey, Beyonce etc to be some of the best singers ever.
4) Kanye West is primarily a rapper, not a singer. He mostly makes hip-hop tracks.
5) if he has no talent then how has had 3 number one albums? Clearly he must be doing something right. Go write some lyrics better than 'Family Business'. Have a commerical hit rap song and then tell me he has no talent.

I really get annoyed when people dismiss artists as talentless simply because they don't enjoy the music when I really doubt they could produce a rap song themselves that doesn't sound hilariously bad. It's so short-sighted. I hate Coldplay, I'd rank Chris Martin as a dreadful singer and I think that they're overrated by many. I would never say they are talentless though. That would just be stupid when they've achieved so much.

Quote :

This are the actions of a man that thinks he is far more important then he really is, but this rediculious display will only fuel his record sales because this is the kind of thing that sells to his audience. There will be a bunch of Kanye apologist trying to explain away his intentions, but his intentions were clear. He was promotiong himself in a moment that had nothing to do with him.

This isn't going to fuel his record sales. He's already a massive star and this will just further tarnish his reputation with the media. It'll get him some attention but it will also be detrimental in public image. I take offence to you claiming his audience, which includes me as I listen to his music, are people who are for this sort of behaviour. I am a massive fan of Kanye West's music and I'm not going to defend his actions. I'm going to condemn them. Don't generalize, CJ.

Quote :

All he has really done is perpetuate sterotypse and expose himself for the fraud that he is. West once said that he was bigger then Elvis and that hip hop would be bigger then the Beatles. Comments like that display his arrogance. West is a douche bag narcissist.

Hip-hop is arguably bigger than The Beatles. They were just one band whereas hip-hop is an entire genre. Although there is no real factual way of proving what is bigger unless you add up the record sales of every hip-hop artist in history and compare that to The Beatles. I know The Beatles have sold around 600 million records. Eminem, Tupac Shakur and Jay-Z have sold a combined total of over 225 million. That is just three rappers out of thousands and I imagine when adding up other big stars like T.I., Snoop Doggy Dogg, Ice Cube, Eazy E, Dr Dre, N.W.A., DMX, 50 Cent, Kanye West, Lil' Wayne, The Notorious B.I.G., Nelly etc, it would exceed 600 million. That's just a prediction though, I'm not going to add up all the album sales of rappers just to prove a point.

But yes, Kanye West is a very arrogant man and he makes some very foolish comments which reflect poorly on himself. I'm not denying that at all.

Quote :

Calling him a muscian takes away from real muscians. His only contributions to music are rythming words and being a douche bag narcissist. Both of which, we can live without.

Stop being such a snob and accept other forms of music. Hip-hop is music and to say otherwise just because you don't like it is very short-sighted. You might not rate rap as something which takes skill but I really doubt you could create music which is consumed by millions of people all over the globe. I'd like to see you create a sampled beat like Kanye West does. I'd like to see you write rhymes more intelligent and relevant than Immortal Technique. I'd like to see you record it with better diction and flow than Eminem. If rap takes no talent then upload your own rap song and lets have a listen.

Oh and I realise Kanye West is a dickhead most of the time. But lets not go overboard and make out he's Adolf freakin' Hitler. West has appeared and participated in many fundraisers, benefit concerts, and has done community work for Hurricane Katrina relief, the Kanye West Foundation, the Millions More Movement, 100 Black Men of America, a Live Earth concert benefit, World Water Day rally and march, Nike runs, and a MTV special with Kanye West helping young Iraq War veterans who struggle through debt and PTSD a second chance after returning home. He's also donated 500,000 dollars to a foundation to aid kids in learning to read and getting a better education.

Kanye's blog after the VMAs which was deleted earlier:


He is such an asshole. Even though I don't quite agree with the result, it's not like it's Taylor Swift's fault that the fans voted for her. She's only a teenager and Kanye's a damn adult. He needs checking up because there is something wrong with him. Seriously disrespectful.

Props to Beyonce to what she did though.