I am not angry with Kanye West and let me tell you why. Right after Kanye’s stunt at the MTV VMAs, I was in shock for about 6 minutes. I really couldn’t speak or think clearly because I have been an avid music award viewer since I was a child, seen quite a few things, but nothing like that. Kanye was wrong for interrupting Taylor Swift’s speech, taking the mic, downplaying her award and re-awarding Beyonce – who from the looks of her face and body language was quite embarrassed and wanted nothing to do with the debacle. There’s no denying that Kanye had no right to take those actions and step on the Swift’s young, innocent joy.
However, I immediately knew something was wrong with Kanye. Something wasn’t the same. Yea we’ve known him to be outlandish and tell award shows that they’re being disrespectful for cutting off his acceptance speech (Grammy’s) or not awarding him when he felt he was deserving (MTV), but there was something different this time. Before he was defending himself and hurting no one. This time he was on a rant to defend another artist and hurt an artist who I’m sure worked hard for her success. I immediately wondered why.
People were quick to bash Kanye West. They didn’t take two seconds to see that this wasn’t his usual antic…that there was a deeper issue, which I think was pretty clear for any person with depth. But of course, the general population is rather shallow and oblivious.
Soon after, pictures surfaced of Kanye getting buzzed up on the VMAs red carpet (pre-awards) with a bottle of Henny to the left and snake skin woman to the right. Again, I’m not saying he’s right by any means, nor is being drunk an excuse for outlandish and hurtful behavior. Kanye was definitely wrong, and has been wrong+sober in the past. My point though, is that the entire study of psychology is based on the brain and how we all react to life’s circumstances differently. There are plenty of drunks on the street or even in our families who are the way they are because of their reaction to circumstances. “Dam, something is wrong with him, he needs help” is more powerful than “F*ck Kanye, he’s a d*ck,” which is all I was hearing at the time.
To be completely honest, if you didn’t like Kanye and didn’t support his music before this situation, none of what I’m saying is directed to you. You can continue disliking him and not supporting him, as I can completely understand and respect your viewpoint. He has done and said many controversial things in the past that can polarize you to either love or hate him. Personally, before this point, he didn’t make me do more than either laugh or shake my head. My comments are directed to the Kanye supporters who tolerated or even rocked with him before, who are suddenly anti-Kanye. These people are fickle and simple-minded. These are the people who read tabloid covers or hear gossip from a friend, nod their heads and all of a sudden that word is gospel. These are the people who ran Michael Jackson into the ground. Do better.
Ask yourself if you’ve ever been drunk and said or done something that hurt someone else. Or have you ever had a friend who you’ve forgiven for drunken dumbness after they apologized? Chances are you’ve been in at least one of those scenarios. I’ve forgiven friends who did drunken dumbness and they were not even drinking out of depression. They were just drunk to be drunk. So think a little deeper as to why some people would be weighing this simple situation between two artists so heavily, as if he beat someone, or statutory raped someone?
Not to mention, this is THE SAME Kanye who was THE ONLY celebrity bold enough to call out the President of the most powerful country in the world and say that he doesn’t like black people. How easily people forget. “George Bush doesn’t care about black people!” Career on the line and all, Kanye has always talked out of turn, hate it or love it. This time, yes, it went a little too far because he’s been drinking away his depression… because he’s going through some things with the his mother passing, his fiance leaving him, the stress of a non-stop life on stage and the ordinary stresses of life. You don’t know that you yourself wouldn’t turn to alcohol if you were dealing with his battles. Or even if not alcohol, what would your reaction be? Running through women/men to fill a void? Shutting people who love you out of your life? Becoming a workaholic so you don’t have to deal with the pain that is your reality? Everyone has something.
But the question remains, if Kanye sincerely apologized for hurting Swift and anybody else who got hurt, why are some Kanye fans turning their backs? Is he not human? Is what he did REALLY that bad? Or is it just easier to write someone off instead of trying to figure them out?
The overall point is this: Kanye isn’t paying me to write this, but as usual, celebrity lives reflect our own. We go through what they go through, just under less magnification. We get scrutinized from the people around us rather than people around the world. If you were a Kanye fan before and you turn your back now, you’re really high school and need to do better. Perez Hilton and a number of celebrities and bloggers are on this rampant anti-Kanye thing like he punched them in the mouth. High school!
Picture this. High school: you had a homie who was outspoken as hell, but you accepted it or even liked it. It was entertaining as hell and usually they didn’t hurt anybody but themselves, but they didn’t care. Then one day your homie was going through some personal things and had a bad day, he spazzed on some chick you don’t even care for. Word spread around school that he was uncool for it and even after he apologized and explained himself, people just stopped talking to him. Is that still your homie?
before the interview I thought the “incident” was funny, and now I agree with Ron there was something going on with Ye at the moment. He was obviously not his normal self, and realized he was wrong and immediately appoligized. I hope we can move forward because I am tired of hearing about it.
Comment by Nisha — September 15, 2009 @ 1:41 pm
I was thinkin the same EXACT thing! Good example too!
Comment by Ebz — September 15, 2009 @ 1:42 pm
Good example.
Comment by MekaTheStar — September 15, 2009 @ 2:05 pm
This all boils down to him losing his mom! I have a degree in psych and working on a degree in SW and this is classic in many of my clients. it takes a traumatic experience to change someone’s actions, thinking, and lifestyle and the correct intervention to help them deal with the situation. It is clear that Kanye is need of serious grief and bereavement counseling. The old Kanye never went to an awards show with a bottle! And look at his choice in women! He went from a classy model to a trashy stripper.. I dont have problem with Amber but shes not right or a positive person for Kanye at this time his life. I hope he does take time to greave and reflect on things that are going on in his life, and leave Amber alone.
The public needs 2 realize this and stand by him and guide him to the help that he needs, if we turn our backs on him he could be lost 4ever. Look @ Frankie, lol
Comment by Lauren — September 15, 2009 @ 2:07 pm
lmao @ look at frankie! agreed w/ all yall tho. i think black people in particular have a lack of understanding on psychology and how the brain works. i’m getting tons of side-line backlash for this post but i dont care. i just hope people read clearly. this is not for people who alreday didn’t like Kanye before this incident because this wasn’t directed to them
Comment by Rondel — September 15, 2009 @ 2:36 pm
I couldn’t agree with u more. I’ve always been a Kanye fan right/wrong..just like I support my closest friends right/wrong. Do I agree all the time? No..but my place in the world is not to judge but support thru good and bad times. Kanye is not my personal friend so I’m not going to argue every person who hates him, but try to understand. I always try to understand where someone is coming from before I draw conclusions. I saw him twice last yr and when he went to perform his song to his mom, he got a lil emotional letting me know he’s still hurting. So yeah he f*d up, he apologized, and he feels bad…so everybody needs to get over it. We all have done f*d up stuff and we still got friends (well some of us lol)…
Comment by Shik — September 15, 2009 @ 2:44 pm
So I totally agree that Kanye is going through an extremely hard time in his life. But besides for that one particular point, I disagree with every solitary thing you’ve said. First alcohol is never an excuse to act like a jerk. Alcohol sure nuff aids in people’s jerky behavior. But that’s just more of a reason to be mindful of not getting drunk in public. Secondly, this is not the first incident where Kanye’s gotten drunk before at an awards show and gotten on stage and used the fact that he had been drinking as an excuse for making an ass of himself. Kanye got smashed at the 2006 MTV Europe Awards and acted a very similar fool. Then are the moments we hear about of off stage rants. Then there’s the infamous Katrina moment. Most of these horrific embarrassments have taken place before his mother’s passing. Before he was dealing with any of the pain he’s dealing with now. So i find it hard to believe this particular incident has anything to do with what he’s going through. Because as history stands, whether he’s on cloud nine, or chillin between the devil’s nuts, he’s going to voice his opinion whenever, wherever, no matter who it embarrasses or hurts. Dude is seriously just plain ole’ selfish. And need to take a long look at his character.
When I think of Kanye, one of Jay-Z’s lines always pop into my head…”You can pay for school, but you can’t buy class” He is soooooo the prime example of that. What the fuck are you doing drinking out of a bottle on the red carpet for with your fucking bald headed girlfriend for in the first place? And what’s insane about the whole thing to me is, he usually has an excellent point. George Bush did hate black people. I agree. Most of those damn awards he should have won. A-fucking-greed! And Beyonce did make one of the best videos of all time. Got me on that one brotha. If would just grow the hell up and learn the appropriate times and places to voice his opinion, he might have more fans that foes right now.
And furthermore. who the hell really knows what it took for Taylor to get to this point of winning that award. Who’s to say that what Kanye is going through is more painful than what she may have been through. What if she lost a loved on and wanted to thank them in her speech and that was the moment that he stole. Would we be able to forgive him then? Would his lose be more significant than hers? I’m not at all saying that’s the case, but what if it were? He doesn’t know her and her country ass struggle. He should be completely ashamed of himself for robbing her of that once in a lifetime moment.
I think this situation more reflects the clown in high school that everyone eventually no longer found funny. That’s all. Every clown has his day. Maybe it’s time to take off the makeup and humble himself.
Comment by Kamille — September 15, 2009 @ 3:18 pm
LMAO @ Kamille, your essay/comment was hilarious and shed many truths. I hear where you’re coming from. My question is, did you stop liking him now or back when he did something else that was foolish? Because honestly, this situation isn’t bigger than calling the President a racist, nor is it bigger than cursing MTV a few years ago saying “he’s a black man trying to make it and they’re trying to stiff him” when he didn’t win an award.
From what you said it sounds like you’ve been done with Kanye for some time. This is more directed to people who are all of a sudden done with Kanye with this Taylor Swift situation, as if this is the single most wrong thing he’s ever done. There’s something deeper here why people AND media are blowing this out of proportion… but I want people to draw their own conclusions and figure it out for themselves…
Comment by Rondel — September 15, 2009 @ 4:37 pm
Okay for me after that shameful ass Katrina shit I was done. Like for real, totally done with him as a person. Like if I saw him trip in the street and scrap up his knee, I would keep all my ban aids because he’s such a fucking jerk. Now as an artist I will walk down the damn wedding aisle to his verse to run this town. Because it was that hot. I got off the subject for a sec… let me bring it back lol
Your right Rondel, for those who were riding hard for Kanye after all the other outlandish shit he has pulled and then get to this point and are suddenly shocked an applaud, you might want to take a look at your self twice. You may want to dig a little deeper.For those who took psych classes and what not, this might be the time to utilize that education lol… Honestly, look at this situation, what is sooooooo fucking different from all the other ones? Is it because he was rooting for someone else besides himself? I don’t think so. He wasn’t lying. Beyonce did make one of the best damn since the dawn of time. Some of us went as far as going out and purchasing leotards and everything. Had every gay man, straight man, high school chick, mad time on their hand having person doing that damn dance across the fucking world. Was it because he stole someones spotlight? Hell no, didn’t he do that shit before. No one was fazed by it. People snickered for a hot second and were over it two hot seconds after that. While there was backlash, it was never anything like the fire storm we’re seeing now. The difference is this time, he attacked a poor little lilly white girl. And while some of you deny it and some of you don’t even realize it, (insert psychology here) that may very well be the reason why many of you are all up in arms about this. Had Kanye got on stage and grabbed the mic from lil mama’s 1994 braid wearing ass the reaction would have been far less outrageous. While some would have thought it wasn’t nice, it would have not been all over the news and on fucking CNN the way it is now. Because while lil mama is a poor little girl (although some may argue she’s Bow Wow in a lace front – by the way… mad immature) she does not have the porcelain skin that so revered in this country. I’m not saying that that’s everyones feeling and reasoning for being so upset, but I definitely think that’s that’s really the reason why many people are so upset and some may not even realize it. And frankly, it’s sad as hell… Not because your even going hard against him as much as your going so hard for her. And it’s not like you know this broad. So you need to ask yourself, why are you really so mad? And if you answer one more time because he was just wrong, the chances are deep inside you probably always wanted to be Snow White lol… Just kidding… But really though… No one wanted to see Snow White get hurt. Because it’s wrong because she was considered this defenseless lily white girl:( But did any give a fuck about Kunta? Yeah I said it!
Comment by Kamille — September 15, 2009 @ 9:59 pm
LMAO again you’re making great points. I just want to reiterate, because I think people still don’t get what I’m saying. I am in no way defending Kanye West for interrupting Taylor Swift’s speech. My larger issue is something that you just touched on. WHY ARE PEOPLE SOOOOO MAD at this case and nothing else that he’s done?
THIS IS NOT THE BIGGEST THING KANYE WEST EVER DID. HE HAS CALLED PRESIDENT BUSH RACIST. DID YALL FORGET?!?! Calling out the President of the USA is WAY bigger than interrupting Taylor Swift’s speech. where’s ur mind? I respect people who didn’t like Kanye from years ago. I get it, like I said again, he has that type of personality that polarizes you, either you like him or you don’t. However, if u liked kanye up until this point, then all of a sudden ur mad at him, u should look deeper within urself. ur a pawn! he is consistent…a consistent jackass yes, BUT CONSISTENT. u on the other hand are not. (u refers to the suddenly mad crowd, not anyone who has commented here specifically)
where is your mind? I do agree. It’s a way larger issue with the way it looked and the way media picked it up. Yes he was wrong, very wrong. He could have blogged about his feelings that Beyonce should have won. He could have sent out a press statement. During the girl’s speech was NOT the time to do it. BUT, I think the reason it’s been taken so deeply and so close to so many people’s hearts is like you said, the “pure/innocent” Swift and the “angry black man” Kanye. Same thing that happens in the news, in court cases where Black men are wrongfully accused for rape because they have a record for shoplifting.
THINK PEOPLE THINK!
Comment by Rondel — September 17, 2009 @ 12:09 pm
As I’ve already said, people are looking too much into this situation IMO, I won’t say anything about how I feel about Kanye beccause I don’t really have an opinion, I like the songs of his that I’ve heard, I’ve never really cared though. It’s not like I don’t like him or I do like him, I’ve never sat down long enough to have an opinion. I do think that what he did was wrong, ALTHOUGH I totally agree with what he said(Bey IS the best) but he shouldn’t have said it. We can’t stop Kanye from voicing his opinion, but he could’ve said it somewhere else. And the funny thing is I’d seen Kanye in the audience and he was NOT that close to the stage, I wanna know HOW he managed to get on the stage.
But back to my point, at school, we had an assembly, it was about forgiveness, there was a powerpoint presentation and the pic of Kanye and Taylor showed up, everyone started laughing(including me, hey I’m 13 allow me to b immature lol) He’s sais sorry, what 3 times or something? What else can he do, he can’t turn back time, and I think I heard taylor said she forgave him, idk. But he’s said sorry, there’s nothing more that we can do.
At the end of theday, worse things have happened in the world, maybe in your life, shouldn’t u be worried about that? It’s not like you personally KNOW Taylor and if you agree with what he said, then do you REALLY care about how she feels, or do you just wanna give your two cents and add fuel to the fire that shouldn’t have started anyway?
Comment by Ola — September 17, 2009 @ 12:19 pm
I’ve always liked Kayne, and he has not given me a vaild reason for me to stop rocking with him. One of the first things I said was, Kayne’s done for because you don’t mess w/ an MTV snow princess. I’m not surprised @ the backlash, but disappointed that Kayne is being portrayed as the devil on earth. Worst things have happened, and worse things will continue to happen. MTV should be glad this occurred cuz the award show would have pop down without it. And I’m sure when Kanye fully emerges from the ashes with incredible music he’s gonna be back on everyone’s hot list..including MTV’s and
whiteAmerica.Comment by Tadi — September 18, 2009 @ 12:02 pm
would he have still been wrong if Pretty Ricky won the award for Tipsy???
Comment by Lauren — September 18, 2009 @ 12:44 pm
Ok Rondel this post actually made me get emotional…
You are so right!
Kanye is human and no one is perfect and while he needs to learn a lesson, he should also be forgiven.
Bottom Line—he didn’t kill, rape, physically harm anyone.
What he did was wrong but he is obviously in pain. I have not heard one person say, “I will pray for him”
Great post…keep up the good work
Comment by Ally Marie — September 19, 2009 @ 5:01 am