Kanye West has left little question over the years as to who the King of Assholes is, but last night he took that title to an abhorrent new low.
In a surprise win, 19 year-old sensation Taylor Swift snagged the Best Female Video for her track "You Belong With Me." When the country singer was giving her acceptance speech onstage, Kanye hopped up, snatched the mic right out of her hand and said, “Yo Taylor. I’m really happy for you. I’m gonna let you finish but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!”
Taylor stood like a deer in headlights, doing her best not to look as crushed as she must have felt after having her genuinely humbled, heartfelt moment stolen by the biggest egomaniac in the game. The cameras panned to Beyonce, who looked understandably shocked and appalled at her cheerleader's behavior.
Kanye then shrugged his shoulders and walked off stage to a roar of boos, leaving Taylor to burn in the spotlight as producers scrambled to cut to a promo clip. She tried to continue her acceptance speech, but her mic was cut off. What was framed to be Swift's moment to shine ended up as another notch in Kanye's ever-growing belt of incidents concreting his status as the most obnoxious asshole in music today.
Later, when Beyonce won best video of the year for "Single Ladies," she said, "This is amazing. I remember being 17 years old, up for my first MTV award with Destiny’s Child and it was one of the most exciting moments of my life, so I would like for Taylor to come out and have her moment."
Taylor returned to the stage, fully composed once more, and said, "Maybe we can try this again," said, thanking "all of my fans on Twitter and MySpace and everyone who came out to my shows this summer."
Still, Kanye did his best to get the final word, in true form, with a too-little-too-late apology to Miss Swift that reeked of teenage insincerity:
"Much respect"? You wouldn't know respect if it kicked the shit out of you, Kanye - but here's hoping someone does, just to be sure.
