TaySwift Vs. Kanye

On Sunday September 13th, 2009, MTV presented their highly anticipated annual Video Music Awards (VMAs). The stars assembled and awards were won, with everyone rooting for their favorite artists. Typically on the nights of these types of award ceremonies, there is a little bit of internet buzz with people commenting on the show. That night, however, there was an interruption in the show.

Announcing the winner for Best Female Video were Taylor Lautner (Twilight: New Moon) and Shakira (latin singer). The nominations for this category included Kelly Clarkson, Beyonce, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and P!nk. The winner was announced: Taylor Swift wins for her video "You Belong With Me"!

• Taylor Swift began as a Country Music singer and is slowly emerging into the pool of pop music and making a BIG splash! The 19 year-old's hits include "Tim McGraw", "White Horse", "Fearless", "Our Song", and many more. She has guest starred on a handfull of TV shows including CSI and SNL. She is currently on tour for her second album Fearless (coming to the Target Center in 2 weeks! I'll be there!).

Upon giving her acceptance speech, (graciously thanking producers, family, and fans) Kanye West sneaks onto the stage taking the mic away from Taylor's hands and proceeded to tell the shocked crowd that Beyonce deserved to win the award for her video "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)". Kanye stated "You're video was great and all, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. Of all time."

• Beyonce is the wife of Jay-Z (whom Kanye refers to as his mentor).

The audience reacted by booing and reacted similarly when he was mentioned throughout the evening. The stars at the performance as well as fans watching the show at home were equally astonished and put-off by Kanye's actions. [View video of the conflict here]



The night went on and ended on a happy note when Beyonce's "Single Ladies" won the award for Best Video and she asked Taylor to come join her on stage so that she could have her moment and finish her speech.

What happened next is what shocked me the most though: Upon seconds of seeing Kanye's actions, I immediately went to my Facebook. Within seconds there were hundreds of posts on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. and many texts were sent. People Tweeted and posted statuses referring to the night such as the fallowing:

• "Like school in the summertime -- no class."
• "Sorry y'all but we're just a little bit protective of Taylor Swift around here!! Hey Kanye.. By around here, I mean the world!! Moron...."
• "Taylor Swift won me as a fan for life for her grace, as did Beyonce...humility and a humble spirit go a long way in this life and the next."
• "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 when're you gonna figure out you're NOT the "voice of our generation?" No one thinks you're as awesome as you're convinced you are."
• "Kanye West should be banned from all music events. How disrespectful!"
• "THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR. REALLY MATURE. TAYLOR SWIFT OBVIOUSLY DESERVED THAT LIGHT, AND YOU ROBBED HER OF THAT. CONGRATS. THE LADIES OF THE NIGHT TRULY HANDLED THE SITUATION WITH GRACE THOUGH."

Even online quizzes were created with title like "When in your life will Kanye interrupt you?" and even our President Obama had something to say about Kanye's actions [View video of Obama's comment here]. The incident led me to think about how quickly we can now communicate with many, many people all at once now. The saying "news travels fast" really comes to mind.

Just something to think about next time you sign on to Facebook...