Remembering iconic moments: When Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's speech at 2009 MTV VMAs 

Looking back at the iconic moment that kick-started the decade-long feud between Kanye West and Taylor Swift. This time, more than a decade ago, in 2009, pop culture was shaken for the rest of time when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's speech at the MTV VMAs.

Sixteen years ago, a 19-year-old Taylor Swift, who dreamt of being the belle of the ball at the Video Music Awards, arrived in a coach and a silver embellished gown fit for Cinderella at the Radio City Music Hall. Swift, who won the Best Female Video for You Belong With Me, took the stage to take her award when everything fell apart.

Kanye West interrupts Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift started her acceptance speech,

"Thank you so much. I always dreamed about what it would be like to maybe win one of these someday, but I never actually thought that it would happen. I sing country music so thank you so much for giving me a chance to win a VMA Award."

However, before she could finish, Kanye West took the stage and the mic to claim that Beyoncé should have won for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" instead.

"Yo, Taylor," the rapper said. "I’m really happy for you. Imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time."

The crowd, including Beyoncé, was left stunned, and Ye left the stage while they booed him, leaving behind a disheartened Taylor, who had the misunderstanding that she was the one being booed.

In her 2020 documentary Miss Americana, she said, "For someone who's built their whole belief system on getting people to clap for you. the whole crowd booing is a pretty formative experience."

Beyoncé did try to make things right by calling Swift on stage later in the evening when she won Video of the Year so she could "have her moment."

The Blank Space singer later revealed that West called her and "was very sincere in his apology," which she accepted.

By 2015, Swift, Kanye West, and his then-wife, Kim Kardashian, seemed to have worked on their relationship, as they seemed quite friendly at the Grammys.

She told Vanity Fair that year "I feel like I wasn’t ready to be friends with him until I felt like he had some sort of respect for me, and he wasn’t ready to be friends with me until he had some sort of respect for me—so it was the same issue, and we both reached the same place at the same time. I became friends with Jay-Z, and I think it was important for Jay-Z for Kanye and I to get along.”

But the damage was done, and to this day, every year during the days leading up to the VMAs, fans, news channels, and stan accounts bring up the moment.

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