How the 2009 MTV VMAs Kickstarted Taylor Swift and Kanye West's Decade-Plus Well-liked Feud
On the 2009 MTV VMAs, Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's speech, launching one among the ideal feuds of all time. Glance at what that 2nd, his “Well-liked” tune and that Snapchat video made Swift discontinue.
The feud between Taylor Swift and Kanye West is one fans know all too effectively.
Sixteen years up to now, on the 2009 MTV Video Tune Awards, the singer pulled up to Novel York’s Radio Metropolis Tune Hall in a coach match for Cinderella. However the evening became anything nonetheless a fairy epic.
After wining Easiest Feminine Video for “You Belong With Me,” Swift took the stage to yell her prize.
“Thanks so well-known,” the then-19-year-outdated talked about. “I always dreamed about what it might perhaps perhaps perhaps perhaps presumably be prefer to perchance procure one among those one day, nonetheless I in no method basically belief that it might perhaps perhaps perhaps perhaps presumably happen. I notify country tune so thanks so well-known for giving me a enormous gamble to procure a VMA Award.”
But earlier than she might perhaps perhaps additionally discontinue her speech, West took the mic and claimed Beyoncé have to win received for “Single Females (Set up a Ring on It)” as an different.
“Yo, Taylor,” the rapper talked about. “I’m basically entirely chuffed for you. Imma make it more uncomplicated to discontinue, nonetheless Beyoncé had one among the ideal movies of all time.”
The viewers booed West as he left the stage, nonetheless Swift belief they had been booing her.
“For somebody who's built their whole belief plan on getting people to clap for you,” she recalled in her 2020 documentary Ride away out Americana, “the whole crowd booing is a handsome formative ride.”
Later that evening, Beyoncé received Video of the Year and invited Swift aid on stage to “win her 2nd.” Collected, the “Courageous” artist couldn’t shake off what West had carried out.
“That became form of a catalyst for different psychological paths that I went down, and no longer all of them had been precious,” she persisted in the doc. “It became all fueled by no longer feeling fancy I belonged there.”
On the other hand, Swift made it particular she didn’t prefer any inferior blood.
“I don’t know him,” she shared in footage captured by Leisure Tonight, “and I don’t have to begin anything.”
For sure, West’s interruption did birth something that was one among basically the most-talked-about feuds in popular culture history. But at one level, it regarded fancy the Grammy winners had been going to set up the whole thing in the aid of them.
Days after the VMAs, Swift urged ABC News Radio West known as her and “became very true in his apology,” which she approved. She even played “Innocent”—a tune rumored to be about forgiving him—on the award present the following year.
As for West, he urged Jay Leno his habits became “depraved” and “hideous, length.” (Though, he urged The Novel York Occasions in 2013 he didn’t be apologetic in regards to the onstage interruption and that he apologized out of detect stress).
By 2015, Swift, West and his then-wife Kim Kardashian had been spotted chatting it up on the Grammys.
“I feel fancy I wasn’t ready to be pals with him until I felt fancy he had some form of admire for me, and he wasn’t ready to be pals with me until he had some form of admire for me—so it became the same plot back, and we each reached the same role on the same time,” the 35-year-outdated urged Arrogance Ravishing that year. “I grew to turn out to be pals with Jay-Z, and I judge it became vital for Jay-Z for Kanye and I to salvage along.”
And liking West “as an particular particular person,” she persisted, became a “basically right, good first step.”
So when Swift became asked to present him with the Video Main edge Award on the 2015 VMAs in what became anticipated to be a fleshy-circle 2nd, she agreed. Taking half in off their “inferior encounter” from that evening six years prior, Swift talked about, “I yell I basically wish to yell to the a form of winners tonight, I’m basically entirely chuffed for you, and Imma make it more uncomplicated to discontinue, nonetheless Kanye West has had one among basically the most spirited careers of all time.”
But when West released his tune “Well-liked” in 2016, fans watched it birth up again.
To sum it up, uh, impulsively, the “All Too Smartly” singer talked about West in no method urged her in regards to the lyric, “I made that b—h infamous, nonetheless he and Kardashian claimed he’d given Swift a heads-up in regards to the tune.
That summer season, Kardashian posted movies to Snapchat that perceived to present Swift and West discussing The Life of Pablo tune, main #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty and snake emojis to spread on-line. On the other hand, Swift maintained West in no method urged her he became going to name her “that b—h” in the tune.
“Being falsely painted as a liar after I became in no method given the fleshy epic or played any phase of the tune is character assassination,” she wrote in a social media post. “I’d very well-known prefer to be excluded from this myth, one that I basically win in no method asked to be a phase of, since 2009.”
Searching aid on the scandal in a 2023 interview for TIME, Swift talked about it felt fancy “a profession death.”
“You might perhaps perhaps presumably additionally win a fully manufactured frame job, in an illegally recorded cell phone name, which Kim Kardashian edited after which attach out to yell to each person that I became a liar,” she persisted. “That took me down psychologically to a job I’ve in no method been earlier than. I moved to a international country. I didn’t leave a apartment condominium for a year. I became jumpy to salvage on cell phone calls. I pushed away the general public in my existence because I didn’t belief somebody anymore. I went down basically, basically exhausting.”
For Swift, the plot back became bigger than the lyric and encompassed her history with West.
Ever since the 2009 VMAs, she urged Rolling Stone in 2019, she wished West’s admire. And as soon as they reconnected, she persisted, she felt fancy she became “healing some childhood rejection or something from after I became 19.”
But outdated wounds opened on the 2015 VMAs after Swift presented West with the award and he talked about, “You know the top possible method persistently they presented Taylor became gonna give me the award because it got them extra rankings?”
“I realized he’s so two-faced,” she added. “That he desires to be good to me in the aid of the scenes, nonetheless then he desires to glance frigid, salvage up in front of each person and talk s–t. And I became so upset. He wished me to arrive consult with him after the tournament in his dressing room. I wouldn’t lunge. So then he sent this mountainous, mountainous thing of vegetation the following day to make an apology. And I became fancy, ‘You know what? I basically don’t prefer us to be on inferior terms again. So no topic, I’m correct going to transfer past this.'”
And he or she belief they had—until she heard “Well-liked.”
“So when he will get on the cell phone with me, and I became so touched that he would be respectful and, fancy, characterize me about this one line in the tune,” she urged the journal. “And I became fancy, ‘OK, right. We’re aid on right terms.’ After which after I heard the tune, I became fancy, ‘I’m carried out with this. Need to you wish to be on inferior terms, let’s be on inferior terms, nonetheless correct be accurate about it.'”
For Kardashian’s phase, she’s expressed how she felt fancy she needed to defend West on the time (this became earlier than their divorce and his antisemitic feedback). And while the actual fact enormous name urged Andy Cohen in 2019 that she became “over” the feud with Swift, it resurfaced again in 2020 when what perceived to be extended footage from that cell phone name leaked on-line.
“To be particular, the handiest plot back I ever had throughout the plot back became that Taylor lied through her publicist who acknowledged that 'Kanye in no method known as to expect for permission…'” Kardashian tweeted. “They clearly spoke so I make it more uncomplicated to all glimpse that. No one ever denied the observe 'b—h' became outdated without her permission.”
So yes, it’s possible you’ll perhaps presumably presumably additionally yell there win been a form of eras of the feud, which win popped up in Swift’s tune. Take her 2017 popularity album or 2024 tune “thanK you aIMee”—a.okay.a. “thank You aimEe.” And while fans win their theories in regards to the tune (pointing to how the capitalized letters spell out “Kim” apart from West’s new name “Ye”), Swift hasn’t exactly been cryptic about her emotions in opposition to the tune.
“It basically makes me imagine how at any time when somebody talks s–t, it correct makes me work even harder and it makes me even more durable,” she talked about for the length of a 2024 Eras Tour discontinue in London, per Parade. “So, it also makes me extremely grateful for those people.”
As fans wait to glance what’s going to lunge down on the 2025 VMAs—the set up Swift is nominated for Artist of the Year—defend finding out to glance aid at extra memorable VMA moments from over the years.
Kanye West, 2009
The rapper crashed the stage when Taylor Swift received Easiest Feminine Video because he belief Beyoncé “had one among the ideal movies of all time.” When Bey later received for Video of the Year, she asked T.Swift to affix her on stage to win her 2nd.
Michael Jackson & Lisa Marie Presley, 1994
Quickly after their marriage ceremony, the couple walked on stage retaining palms because the viewers cheered. After Jackson declared, “I'm very entirely chuffed to be right here and correct judge, no one belief this might perhaps possible final,” the King of Pop and Elvis Presley's daughter shared a kiss and walked off.
Beyoncé, 2011
The pop enormous name presented she and Jay-Z had been observing for their first diminutive one collectively when she cradled her infant bump on the red carpet and actually dropped her mic and rubbed her infant bump on the discontinue of her performance of “Admire On Top.”
Madonna, 1984
The “Material Girl” famously sang “Love a Virgin” while rolling throughout the stage in a white marriage ceremony dress.
Girl Gaga, 2010
Gaga made headlines when she sported the now-unforgettable meat dress by Franc Fernandez as basically the most awarded enormous name of the evening.
Britney Spears & Madonna, 2003
To begin the present, Britney, Madonna and Christina Aguilera joined collectively for a rendition of “Love a Virgin” and “Hollywood,” sealed with a headline-making kiss between the women.
Diana Ross and Lil' Kim, 1999
While presenting Easiest Hip-Hop Video, the legendary singer impulsively tapped Lil' Kim's exposed left breast.
Rage Towards the Machine, 2000
Who might perhaps perhaps additionally neglect when Rage Towards the Machine bassist Tim Commerford expressed his displeasure on the band shedding an award to Limp Bizkit by storming the stage and scaling a display tower? Even though his 2nd became rapid-lived on tv—since the community cut to a industrial—basically, Tim's evening became no longer since he became arrested and sentenced to a evening in penal complex.
Lil Mama, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, 2009
Think or no longer, the Kanye West–Taylor Swift incident became no longer the handiest impromptu onstage 2nd to happen for the length of the 2009 present. After the now-inferior interruption, Lil Mama decided to impulsively join fellow Novel Yorkers Jay-Z and Alicia Keys for the length of their duet of “Empire Train of Mind.”
Howard Stern, 1992
The Shock Jock lived up to his raunchy popularity when he became lowered onto the stage as a superhero named Fartman.
Kurt Cobain vs. Axl Rose, 1992
The two had been focused on one among basically the most infamous rock feuds. On the 1992 VMAs, tensions ran high in the aid of the curtain, the set up Cobain's wife Courtney Admire, who also brought along then-new child daughter Frances Bean, taunted Rose, prompting the Guns N' Roses frontman to threaten to beat up Cobain if he didn't shut his “bitch” up. Kurt then urged Admire, paradoxically, “Shut up, bitch!”
After he performed along with his band Nirvana, the team's drummer Dave Grohl kept asserting “Hello, Axl!” into his mic.
Fiona Apple, 1997
The songstress received the award for Easiest Novel Artist in a Video, nonetheless outdated her acceptance speech as a likelihood to pronounce out in opposition to Hollywood, telling viewers, “This world is bulls–t.”
Britney Spears, 2001
The pop princess unforgettably took the stage for her performance of “I'm a Slave 4 U” with a snake draped over her shoulders.
Eminem vs. Moby, 2002
Amid an ongoing feud between Eminem and Moby, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog poked fun at their pork while roasting the latter artist to his face in the VMAs viewers. Triumph then tried to discontinue the same to Eminem, who became no longer in the mood.
Eminem later took to the stage to settle for the award for Easiest Male Video and talked about mid-speech, “That diminutive Moby lady threw me out of my zone for a minute.”
Britney Spears, 2007
The pop princess made her highly anticipated return to the VMA stage, though her performance of “Gimme Extra” became panned.
Justin Bieber, 2011
The Biebs had his have snake 2nd when he brought a infant boa constrictor named Johnson to the current.
Nicki Minaj vs. Miley Cyrus, 2015
While accepting the award for Easiest Hip-Hop Video for “Anaconda,” Nicki confronted Miley, who became web web hosting, over negative feedback she had made in regards to the rapper in a Novel York Occasions interview. She known as the pop enormous name a “bitch” and asked her, “What's right?”
Kanye West, 2015
On the discontinue of his lengthy Video Main edge acceptance speech, the rapper unforgettably presented his opinion to plug for president in 2020.
Drake & Rihanna, 2016
The rapper sparked headlines when he declared his take care of for the songstress while presenting her with the 2016 Video Main edge Award, telling the viewers, “She's somebody I've been in take care of with since I became 22-years-outdated.”
Fifth Concord, 2017
On the heels of Camila Cabello's exit, the girl team haunted the enviornment as soon as they opened their performance with the mumble of a fifth member falling off the stage.
A version of this epic became previously printed September 10, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. PST.
Source credit : eonline.com
