MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) are known for unexpected acts from celebrities and unforgettable performances. The 2009 VMAs had memorable events, especially the Kanye West and Taylor Swift incident. After the incredible tribute to Michael Jackson, Kanye West switched the mood in an instant on national television. Kanye West’s act at the VMAs has caused controversy after West took Swift’s microphone and said “Taylor, I'm really happy for you. I'll let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!" What Kanye West did to Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMA’s immediately shocked the audience and viewers on television across the country. Taylor Swift was speechless after Kanye’s rant about how Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” should have won the award for ‘Best Female Video of 2009.’ Instead, Taylor Swift’s “You belong with me” won the award. Beyoncé was surprised as well when Kanye announced how she should have won the award. 
    Kanye not only left Taylor shocked, but also interrupted her very first award speech at the VMA’s. After the incident, celebrities such as Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus expressed how they felt about the situation. “Kanye west is the biggest piece of [expletive] on earth. Quote me,” as Pink wrote on her twitter. Miley Cyrus, a friend of Taylor Swift, also commented on Kanye’s rant: "It's what he does it for. He does it for press. Don't feed into it. He's gonna get what he wants by getting to be in tabloids because of that," It was not only celebrities that criticized Kanye, but President Obama as well. Obama called Kanye a ‘jackass’ for stealing the microphone from Taylor Swift at the Video Music Awards. “The network said some of its employees had overheard a conversation between the president and CNBC's John Harwood and didn't realize it was considered off the record.” quoted Yahoo! News. This news got out because Terry Moran, one of the co-anchors of “Nightline”, wrote what he overheard on his Twitter, which eventually diffused to the public. 
    This was not the first outburst that Kanye West had at the VMA’s. West walked out of the 2004 American Music Awards for not winning the Best New Artist award as well as the rant that he delivered at the 2007 VMAs. Kanye’s act at the 2009 VMAs was not a huge surprise since the public knew him for his rants on award shows, but still shocked viewers who saw what had happened on the VMAs. Kanye West appeared on the red carpet at the VMA pre show with a bottle of cognag, an alcoholic drink which some say could be one of the reasons for Kanye’s action. 
    Kanye West appeared on the Jay Leno show after all the commotion from the Video Music Awards. On the show, West told Leno "I immediately knew in this situation that it was wrong…and it wasn't a spectacle, you know. It was actually someone's emotions, you know, that I stepped on and it was very, it was just, it was rude, period." Kanye West knew that what he did was wrong to Taylor Swift and personally apologized to her. What happened at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was uncalled for, but caused a lot of attention for Kanye West.