Kanye West latest rant against Taylor Swift at VMAs is one in a long line of race-based outbursts
Kanye West has been known for some outrageous statements and tantrums over the years, and last night’s bizarre display was no different. West stormed the stage of the MTV Video Music Awards when country singer Taylor Swift was announced as the winner of the Best Female Video category. West pulled the microphone from the winner and left Swift to clutch her iconic “Moonman” award as she looked on in shock.
Later in the evening, Beyonce Knowles, who West insisted should have won, did in fact win for Video of the Year. She made a great gesture and invited Swift back on stage to give her proper thank yous and have her “moment.”
West, meanwhile, was reportedly thrown out of the awards show and then released a pathetic, ALL-CAPS apology that was back-handed at best.
And although many people would like to chalk up this incident as part of the long line of “Kanye being Kanye,” there appears to be a darker theme emerging. To West, it is all about race.
West first came on the music scene in 2004, and on the temper-tantrum scene not long after that. On November 14, 2004, West left the American Music Awards in a hissy-fit when he lost to country singer Gretchen Wilson. After walking towards the stage as they began to announce the award for Best New Artist, West was embarrassed that he lost to a “Redneck Woman.” West said, “I feel I was definitely robbed … I was the best new artist this year, so get that other bullshit out of here,”
West’s “apology” to Wilson came in several forms, including to Wilson herself. But one in particular notes his real motivation to anger. On December 10, 2004, the New York Daily News reported that West told them, “‘I was raised better than that,’ he told us. ‘It was very ignorant. I apologize to my role models [including] Denzel Washington, who had to sit in that [Oscar] seat and take it so many years.’” This was a clear allusion to the fact that Washington was the first African-American to win the Best Actor Academy Award and that many in the black community believed that he was not given the award in the past because of his race.
West’s “best” race-based tirade came in his infamous Hurricane Katrina speech, in which he stumbled over his own words like a middle schooler giving his campaign platform for student council. West’s well-thought out, eloquent conclusion? “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
Even overseas, West has shown his indignation towards other artists beating him. At the 2006 MTV European Music Awards, West bum-rushed the stage to protest that the group Justice Vs. Simian had a video that was better than his $1 million effort in “Touch the Sky.” Not surprisingly, the group was a white duo.
Before last night’s blow up on Swift, West’s last major racial rant at an awards show occurred at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. West proclaimed “Give a black man a chance!” backstage after he lost for the second year in a row.
If any white artist conveniently had blowups when minorities beat them out for awards, they would be called a racist, without a doubt. West’s history shows that he has an uncontrollable and irrational anger directed at whites. The entertainment community appears to be shocked and appalled after West ruined Swift’s night, but this is just one incident in a long line of them. MTV and other entertainment outlets would be unwise to keep giving airtime to someone who has such hatred.
For more info: Joe Luppino-Esposito is a law student and a leading young conservative writer. He speaks nationally on winning activism battles for conservatives on campus. Joe is also editor of AverageJoeLE.com, a blog for recent conservative college graduates.
