Kanye West eclipsed any controversy Russell Brand threatened to generate when he interrupted Taylor Swift’s Best Female video acceptance speech.
When the rapper first appeared on stage to put over Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” as the more deserving female video, the audience (and Swift) was largely dumbfounded. There were initial boos, and subsequent cheers for Taylor Swift, but no one entirely knew how to react.
By the next time Kanye was mentioned in a notable way, the audience had made up its mind.
During Diddy’s introduction of the nominees for Best Male video, his mention of “Kanye West” drew a chorus of boos from the crowd. The negative reaction to Kanye, followed by a loud “Taylor” chant, proved so distracting that Diddy stumbled through the rest of his speech and went straight to the nominee list.
Update: Beyonce, whose “Single Ladies” was the subject of West’s frustration, also showed support for Swift. After winning Video of the Year, Beyonce cut her own speech off, instead giving the spotlight to Taylor Swift, who delivered the acceptance statement West had previously interrupted.
