West outburst draws boos at MTV awards
NEW YORK – Kanye West apologized for yet another outburst at the MTV Video Music Awards, this time directed at country-pop sweetheart Taylor Swift. The disruption upstaged not just Swift’s awards speech, but the entire evening, including an emotional tribute to Michael Jackson.
In a rare conciliatory moment, West took to his blog to apologize. In a standard all-caps message, West said: “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!”
West – who has flipped out after losing at the VMAs, the Grammys, the American Music Awards and more – once again took umbrage when the awards process didn’t go the way he wanted it to – but this time, it was on behalf of Beyonce.
Beyonce, nominated for best female video for “Single Ladies,” was bested by Swift, the best-selling artist of the year outside of Jackson. The 19-year-old was giddy when she won for her clip “You Belong With Me,” the first award given out Sunday, and said: “I always wondered what it would be like to maybe win one of these someday, but never actually thought it would happen.”
But West ruined her moment when he jumped on stage at Radio City Music Hall.
“Taylor, I’m really happy for you, and I’m gonna let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time,” said West, as a shocked Beyonce looked on and the crowd began to boo.
A crestfallen Swift didn’t finish her speech. She later got a speech do-over, courtesy of Beyonce, who won video of the year for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).”
The incident completely overshadowed a poignant, tender tribute to Michael Jackson by Madonna and sister Janet.
Madonna gave a moving speech about her relationship with Jackson, which began when she was a youngster idolizing the then-child star, then morphed into a friendship when both were at the apex of their careers and later, grew distant. Madonna lamented the negative publicity that dogged him in his later years.
“Sometimes, we have to lose things before we can truly appreciate them,” said Madonna, dressed in black.