Even if you didn’t watch MTV’s VMAs last night, if you’ve spent any amount of time online today you’ve probably caught a whiff of The Great Kanye West Music Award Debacle of 2009 (there’ve been several over the years).
In a nutshell, as Taylor Swift was accepting her VMA for Best Female Music Video, Kanye West took it upon himself to take the mic from her and shout, “Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’ll let you finish, but Beyoncé has one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!”
(You can see watch the sad scene courtesy of MTV.COM.)
Naturally, everyone was in an uproar. After a few cheers (honestly, who cheered for that?), the crowd booed West off the stage and he was apparently escorted out of the building. Throughout the night, the crowd continued to show disgust whenever West’s name was mentioned, and celebrities took to their Twitter accounts and personal blogs later on to keep fanning the flames.
And of course, aside from “Just who the hell does he think he is?”, the big question seems to be “How, if at all, will this affect his career?”
David Hinckley of NYDailyNews.com claims (and rightly so, I think) that “As any child psychologist will tell you, to keep inviting him back at this point is to reward the behavior, to make him think it’s acceptable,” and, despite the old adage “Any publicity is good publicity,” the Los Angeles Times is asking for readers’ opinions in its Will Kanye West’s outburst at MTV VMAs hurt or help his music sales? poll.
I don’t think anyone’s reaction to West’s behavior is surprising, but what I do find surprising is that so few sites are dedicating a significant amount of space to Beyonce’s reaction. When the singer won Video of the Year for “Single Ladies” later that night, she invited Swift back up on stage to give the acceptance speech West robbed her of:
“Thank you,” Beyoncé said. “This is amazing, I remember being 17 years old, 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.” (MTV.COM)
Kanye displayed what’s becoming his typical classless behavior, and maybe it will affect his career in some way. It probably won’t, but, maybe it will. Shoot, maybe these awards show organizers will smarten up and punish him with a time out worthy of his childish, arrogant antics.
Probably not.
Beyonce, on the other hand, stepped up and displayed a mature, selfless, and caring attitude, giving up her own stage time to allow a fellow entertainer – one in whom she could see a lot of her younger self – to “have her moment” the right way.
That’s class, and much more worthy of talking about, I believe 
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Another thing that escapes the attention of most people is that Taylor Swift had to perform LIVE 9 minutes after being completely humiliated. For her to put on an amazing performance with a SMILE showed that she, at 19 is much more mature than Kanye, no matter how old he is. (Let’s see, he’s 2, right?)
Taylor and Beyonce – both fantastic women.
I was disappointed in Kanye’s behavior, but not surprised. When talent fades (or was never really there in the first place), a person will often do anything possible to try and stay in the spotlight. Even if it means sacrificing their own dignity.
Taylor Swift is an amazing young woman who has accomplished so much in her short life. And Beyonce showed much wisdom and compassion by offering her her own stage time to make up for Kanye’s inexcusable behavior.
Glad to see you blog about this, as it’s definitely worth noting not only when celebrities perform badly, but also when they perform admirably. Indeed, it would have been nice to see all the headlines not mention Kanye at all, only as a footnote to Beyonce’s own good will the achievements of Beyonce and Taylor Swift. The media — by always focusing on the negative to the detriment of the positive — may get more readers, but it drags down the quality of the conversation.
And while it’s arguable that any of these folks should be role models, kids learn — once again — that doing something outrageous gets you more attention and your “15 minutes of fame” than doing something outstanding — like having a successful musical career (and more) at 19.
I love kanye but he gotta chance his ways about himself.
what was he thinking???
Alicia, I’m so glad you blogged about this–I was going to do it myself, then Patrick Swayze died and I went in that direction instead. But I am also so impressed with Beyonce and the total class she displayed. Not to mention the composure Taylor Swift showed in the face of all this. Taylor later said, “I can’t say I wasn’t rattled by it,” but even then she refused to insult Kanye. She just wanted to get back in the right frame of mind for her performance just a few minutes later.
Anyway, back to Beyonce. Total class, like I said. I’m generally impressed with her in other contexts, too. Her music is head and shoulders above most of what’s out there. She doesn’t rely on the cheap sex themes that so much R&B these days defaults to. She always goes deeper. “Halo,” for instance, is about the redeeming power of love, and “Put a Ring on It” is about commitment. Just really good stuff.
Thanks for putting the attention where it belongs–on the good news, not the bad.
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