Kanye West�s Overblown Ego Takes Center Stage at the 2009 MTV VMAs

Last night at the MTV Video Music Awards, a show that has become much more famous for shocking publicity stunts than actual music or videos, the ever-present, godlike ego of Kanye West managed to upstage Madonna, Beyonce, and even the late Michael Jackson in an embarrassing and completely unprofessional rant.

He stomped onstage while the sweet-as-apple-pie country starlet, Taylor Swift, was trying to accept her very first Moon Man for Best Female Video, interrupted her speech, grabbed the microphone out of her hands, and announced to everyone that Beyonce “had the best video of all time.” 

All Taylor could do was stand there, shocked and looking like she was about to cry.  The cameras immediately flashed to Beyonce, whose stunned expression was reminiscent of someone who has just been given a really inappropriate shout-out by the drunk Best Man at a wedding reception.  The crowd was a mixture of screams and boos, which quickly gave way to cheers and a standing ovation for the poor girl who had her big moment completely ruined by West. 

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As it turns out, Kanye’s little tantrum was completely unnecessary, because Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” video did get an award, the much-coveted Video of the Year at the end of the show.  (West had been kicked out of Radio City Music Hall shortly after his interruption and was nowhere to be found.)  After taking the stage, the pop goddess gave a little anecdote about how thrilled she was at age seventeen when she and Destiny’s Child won their first ever VMA, calling it one of the most “exciting moments in my life.”  She then graciously called Taylor Swift up to the stage so she could “have her moment.” 

Kanye, who many have now said was drunk off his mind on Hennessey before, during, and after the awards show, got home and went all kinds of crazy on his blog in all caps, writing this bizarre “apology:”

“I’M SOOOOO SORRY TO TAYLOR SWIFT AND HER FANS AND HER MOM. I SPOKE TO HER MOTHER RIGHT AFTER AND SHE SAID THE SAME THING MY MOTHER WOULD’VE SAID. SHE IS VERY TALENTED! I LIKE THE LYRICS ABOUT BEING A CHEERLEADER AND SHE’S IN THE BLEACHERS! …………………… I’M IN THE WRONG FOR GOING ON STAGE AND TAKING AWAY FROM HER MOMENT!…………….. BEYONCE’S VIDEO WAS THE BEST OF THIS DECADE!!!! I’M SORRY TO MY FANS IF I LET YOU GUYS DOWN!!!! I’M SORRY TO MY FRIENDS AT MTV. I WILL APOLOGIZE TO TAYLOR 2MRW. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!!!! EVERYBODY WANNA BOOOOO ME BUT I’M A FAN OF REAL POP CULTURE!!! NO DISRESPECT BUT WE WATCHIN’ THE SHOW AT THE CRIB RIGHT NOW CAUSE … WELL YOU KNOW!!!! I’M STILL HAPPY FOR TAYLOR!!!! BOOOYAAAWWWW!!!! YOU ARE VERY VERY TALENTED!!! I GAVE MY AWARDS TO OUTKAST WHEN THEY DESERVED IT OVER ME… THAT’S WHAT IT IS!!!!!!! I’M NOT CRAZY YALL, I’M JUST REAL. SORRY FOR THAT!!! I REALLY FEEL BAD FOR TAYLOR AND I’M SINCERELY SORRY!!! MUCH RESPECT!!!!!”

Now if that isn’t the paradigm of sincerity, I don’t know what is.  The five hundred exclamation marks really do the trick.     

Granted, I think most of us at Shewired probably appreciated Beyonce's scorchingly sexy "Single Ladies" video more than Taylor's: it is the hottest thing in the world, but keep in mind that this is the MTV Awards, i.e. the fresh-faced, still-teenaged Taylor Swift is much closer to the key demographic than Beyonce at this point and clearly has zillions of fans.  All Kanye did was garner sympathy for Swift, put Beyonce in a really awkward position, and make himself look like the most unprofessional ass in the business. 

Personally, if I’m going to have to sit through a cringe-worthy, and possibly staged VMA stunt, I’d much rather watch Madonna make out with Britney and Christina again, or all those Catholic schoolgirls take their shirts and skirts off during Tatu’s performance.  Sorry Kanye, you just aren’t doing it for me. 

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