After the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, it was safe to say that everyone hated Kanye West. Unsure what I’m referring to? Taylor Swift had just won the “Best Female Video” VMA for her video for “You Belong with Me,” and was just beginning her acceptance speech when Kanye West got up from his front-row seat and stole her thunder by reciting these infamous lines:
EY YO TAYLOR, I'MMA LET YOU FINISH, BUT BEYONCE HAD THE BEST VIDEO OF ALL TIME. OF ALL TIME!
No one could believe West’s audacity to interrupt someone else’s acceptance speech, then proceed to insult her by saying that someone else deserved the award. Critics everywhere, who already disliked West on his lack of humility and history of rude comments, tore West apart. Many said it was a publicity stunt to get him in the spotlight, some said it was a publicity stunt to get Swift in the spotlight. And others said that MTV set the whole thing up to get more viewers. Any way you look at it, this was a public relations crisis for all parties, but especially West.
Admittedly, I was quickly and decisively a Taylor-supporter and Kanye-hater. His drunken, all-caps apology posted shortly after on his blog (where he even takes the time to mention his late mother) didn’t even satiate me. I remember posting something along the lines of:
While his comment was true (Beyonce is a damn genius with her music videos), show some f’ing RESPECT. Let Taylor have her moment. God, I hate him so much. He better apologize.
In my PR class the very next day, we discussed extensively not just what West had to do to keep his fans, but also what Swift needed to do with her newfound popularity. Swift did an excellent job of staying neutral, West attempted to apologize and was hated by the public for the next year–I honestly felt bad for his public relations team and how their efforts to change his rep would be fruitless, despite how hard they worked to change it.
But then, something changed. Kanye West got a Twitter account.
West finally got his chance to say what he wanted to the public, uncensored. I followed him initially just to see what ridiculousness he would tweet, much like many of my peers. Case in point:
Sometimes I get emotional over fonts
Yo I ain’t gone lie… the diamond teeth be looking crazy dope with tux jackets. The juxtaposition is what I live for
…Uh, what, Kanye?
But in this weird way, it broke down that imaginary fourth wall and offered followers a look into West as a person. From his obsession with suits to his late-night rambles about flight attendants, West was starting to grow on me, and on the general public too. But the tipping point for me (and others will agree) was September 4, 2010. West went on a Twitter-spree, tweeting in a stream-of-consciousness style, addressing his issues with the media and how he paid for his actions at the 2009 VMA’s. The gist:
Man I love Twitter… I’ve always been at the mercy of the press but no more… The media tried to demonize me
How deep is the scar… I bled hard.. cancelled tour with the number one pop star in the world … closed the doors of my clothing office
Had to let employees go… for the first time I felt the impact of my brash actions … I felt the recession from an ownership side
Remember in Anchor Man when Ron Burgandy cursed on air and the entire city turned on him? But this wasn’t a joke. This was & is my real life
[Taylor Swift] deserves the apology more than anyone. Thank you Biz Stone and Evan Williams for creating a platform where we can communicate directly
These aren’t regular tweets… this is stream of consciousness … I want you guys to know and feel where my head is at…
These tweets have no manager, no publicist , no grammar checking… this is raw
I wish I could talk to every hater face to face and change there a opinion of me one conversation at a time.
And with that, I became a Kanye-supporter.
Twitter offered me an uncensored look at Kanye, perhaps the closest I will get to knowing him personally. Anyone who has the guts to acknowledge, apologize for and try to reconcile for his/her mistakes publicly gets my vote.
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