MTV Awards Marred by Performer’s Comments

Christopher Polk/Getty Images Kayne West drew scorn from the audience over his comments after Taylor Swift won the Best Female Video award.
A few days ago the country was starkly reminded that there are rules of decorum in the United States Congress. And on Sunday night, it became apparent that even the MTV Video Music Awards has little tolerance for outlandish behavior.
The annual presentation of the MTV awards began at Radio City Music Hall seeking to strike a mood both somber and celebratory, opening with a tender speech by Madonna about her memories of Michael Jackson, followed by a spirited dance tribute to the King of Pop that featured his sister Janet Jackson.
But that reverential tone was quickly broken when the night’s first award was presented, for best female video. The nominees in that category included Beyoncé, for her dance anthem “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” and Taylor Swift, for her ballad “You Belong With Me.” Ms. Swift, the 19-year-old country singer, was named the winner, and as she received her trophy, she began to tell the audience that she “always dreamed about what it would be like to maybe win one of these someday.”
Her reverie was interrupted by Kanye West, the hip-hop performer and provocateur, who followed Ms. Swift on stage and appeared to take her microphone. “I’m really happy for you,” he told her. “I’m going to let you finish. But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.”
Mr. West left the stage to boos, while Ms. Swift stood silently displaying her award. The television broadcast cut away to a wide shot of the stage, and then to a taped segment featuring the comedian Tracy Morgan.
Inside Radio City Music Hall, the audience’s outrage at Mr. West’s actions continued for several more minutes. On the theater’s first mezzanine, cries of “I think he’s out of his mind!” and “He just threw his whole career away!” could be heard. Though MTV has a reputation for stoking the flames of controversy at its award shows – an apparent fight between the rapper Eminem and the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen at the MTV Movie Awards in June was quickly revealed as a hoax – most audience members seemed to believe the interaction between Ms. Swift and Mr. West was genuine.
During a commercial break, the hip-hop performer Wale, who was leading the house band at the Video Music Awards, tried to quell the crowd. Addressing the audience, he cracked a joke about Serena Williams, saying that her match-ending tantrum at the United States Open on Saturday was the result of “roid rage.” Returning to the subject of Mr. West, Wale said, “You can’t fault a man for speaking his mind,” and he was roundly booed.
Mr. West remained the evening’s villain in absentia, and each mention of his name was jeered for all the subsequent categories in which he was nominated. (Luckily for MTV and various presenters, Mr. West won no awards on Sunday night.)
Beyoncé, however, won the evening’s biggest prize, the Video of the Year award, for “Single Ladies,” and when she came on stage to accept it, she invited Ms. Swift to come back and finish her interrupted speech.
“Do you want me to try this again?” Ms. Swift asked the audience, which cheered its approval. She then thanked various professional colleagues and the high school of her younger brother, Austin, for allowing her to film the video there.
On his personal blog , Mr. West apologized for his behavior at the awards show. In an all-caps message, he wrote: “I’M SOOOOO SORRY TO TAYLOR SWIFT AND HER FANS AND HER MOM. I SPOKE TO HER MOTHER RIGHT AFTER AND SHE SAID THE SAME THING MY MOTHER WOULD’VE SAID. SHE IS VERY TALENTED!” He also reiterated his assertion that Beyonce’s video was “THE BEST OF THIS DECADE!!!!”
It was unclear if Mr. West would pay any further penance for his behavior. But he is scheduled to perform on Monday on the debut of “The Jay Leno Show,” along with the rapper Jay-Z, who is Beyoncé’s husband.