Kanye West has made some questionable decisions in his music career, not to mention his collaborations and song topics – but his behavior with other artists alone warrants a whole list.
His infamous moment with Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was perhaps his most contentious and embarrassing decision.
The show-stopping moment established itself as the most contentious moment in the music industry.
Swift’s “You Belong With Me” won Best Female Video at the time, beating Kelly Clarkson’s “My Life Would Suck Without You,” Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold,” Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face,” Pink’s “So What,” and Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).”
Swift eventually won, but West appeared to be dissatisfied with the outcome.
He dashed onto the stage, grabbing Swift’s microphone and yelling:
“Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you. I’ma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!”
Taylor Swift and Beyonce were embarrassed and at a loss for words following Kanye’s shocking appearance. Swift and Kanye have been at odds with each other ever since. When Beyonce won the VMA for Video of the Year, she invited Swift to finish her speech on stage.
Consequence, a close collaborator of Kanye West, has now revealed to HipHoDX a part of West’s thought process following the infamous onstage encounter with Swift.
Kanye immediately regretted his decision, according to the rapper, worrying that his interruption might have cost him his music career. West faced a barrage of criticism, including a scathing rebuke from then-President Barack Obama, who called him a “jackass” for his involvement.
West decided to do the weekly GOOD Friday music releases with the help of Consequence and his own music label, GOOD Music. However, Consequence believes that these are insufficient to rehabilitate Kanye West’s music career.
He revealed to the outlet:
“It doesn’t eradicate the Taylor Swift incident. It’s not big enough to K.O. that. Brands ain’t gonna forget that, touring ain’t gonna forget that, so forth and so on. So which put Kanye in a corner, and he came out flying with G.O.O.D. Fridays.”
Kanye admitted at a 2020 event that after the backlash, he went into self-exile, which caused him to rethink things and his decisions, which could have an impact on his career.
The 2009 VMAs incident has since been dubbed one of the “worst decisions in music history” by Rolling Stone.