During the 2009 MTV VMAs, Kanye West stormed the stage during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech, sparking a longtime feud between the musicians
When it comes to infamous MTV VMAs moments, nothing quite compares to Taylor Swift and Kanye West’s run-in at the 2009 ceremony on Sept. 13.
As Swift accepted her first VMA for Best Female Video for “You Belong with Me,” West infamously stormed the stage during her speech, proclaiming, “Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’ma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!”
The event sparked a chain of events, resulting in a longtime feud between the musicians. Though they briefly mended their feud in 2015 — as Swift presented West MTV’s Video Vanguard Award at the VMAs — things eventually took a turn in 2016 as the rapper released his song “Famous,” which included a dig at Swift.
West’s then-wife Kim Kardashian then inserted herself into the drama as she came to his defense by sharing a phone call between West and Swift that seemingly showed the rapper and the singer discussing the track ahead of its release.
In the years since, Swift has shared her side of the story through her music. Her Reputation album largely addresses the feud, and her recent album The Tortured Poets Department features a song titled “thanK you aIMee” that alludes to the drama as it notably capitalizes K, I, and M in the song’s title.
In fact, Swift subtly re-stylized “thanK you aIMee” to “thank You aimEe” as she blocked West’s album from reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in August.
While Swift and West’s interaction at the 2009 award show goes down in VMAs infamy, their interaction on stage wasn’t the only big moment from the night. Relive the viral moment in music history ahead.
Taylor Swift arrives at the VMAs in a Cinderella carriage
On the heels of her Fearless album, Swift turned the MTV VMAs into her very own princess moment. It was a notable moment as Swift was seen pulling up to Radio City Music Hall in a Cinderella-esque horse and carriage.
Taylor Swift shimmering on the red carpet
Swift had all eyes on her as she stepped out of her carriage and walked the red carpet in a silver sequin gown, which she paired with her signature red lipstick. The dress itself has become a historic moment in pop culture history, with the singer herself re-wearing it for her “Look What You Made Me Do” music video, in which she alludes to her feud with West.
Taylor Swift accepts her first MTV VMA from Shakira and Taylor Lautner
Just moments before the infamous moment with West, Swift was in pure bliss as she accepted her very first MTV VMA. For the special honor, she was presented the award by Shakira and Taylor Lautner, who Swift was actually dating at the time. The couple was seen sharing a sweet hug on stage before she made her way to the mic.
Swift later alluded to sharing the stage with Lautner — and the infamous West moment that followed — in her song “Back to December” as she sings about a “September night” where he first saw her cry. Meanwhile, Lautner looked back at the moment in 2023 during the debut episode of his podcast The Squeeze.
During the episode, the actor recalled that he “was unaware that the Kanye thing was not a skit.” The actor said he then laughed about the interaction until his then-girlfriend turned around and he saw her face. “I was like, ‘Oh,” he said. “No, that … wasn’t good.”
Kanye West storms on stage during Taylor Swift’s VMAs speech
Shortly after accepting the award, West stormed the stage and interrupted Swift’s acceptance speech with the now-infamous proclamation, “Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’ma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!”
The outburst was met with shocked faces from the crowd, including Beyoncé who seemed to mouth, “Oh, Kanye!” As Swift stood on the stage in shock, the entire crowd erupted in boos. During her Miss Americana documentary, Swift recalled the moment, noting that she initially thought the crowd was booing at her.
“It was so echo-y in there. At the time, I didn’t know they were booing him doing that,” she said. “I thought they were booing me.”
“For someone who has built their whole belief system on getting people to clap for you, the whole crowd booing is a pretty formative experience,” she added. “That was a sort of catalyst for a lot of psychological paths that I went on and not all of them were beneficial. It was all fueled by me not feeling like I belonged there. I’m only here because I work hard and I’m nice to people.”
Taylor Swift ‘shakes it off’ by performing in the N.Y.C. subway
Like the “Fearless” singer she is, Swift didn’t miss a beat as she performed in the N.Y.C. subway moments after the West incident. Wearing a bright red dress, Swift sang “You Belong With Me” on a moving subway surrounded by fans before emerging from Rockefeller Center subway station and singing outside of Radio City Music Hall.
It was certainly an iconic VMAs moment, so much so that it’s currently nominated for a new social category at the 2024 ceremony, VMAs Most Iconic Performance.
Taylor Swift poses with her Moonperson backstage
Later in the night, Swift made her way backstage to the press room as she posed with her very first Moonperson. While talking with reporters, Swift spoke about the West incident for the first time, revealing that she was previously a fan of the rapper before the interaction.
“I was standing on stage and I was really excited because I’d just won the award and then I was really excited because Kanye West was on stage … And then I wasn’t excited anymore after that,” she said at the time.
Taylor Swift shares the stage with Beyoncé
The night came to a dramatic conclusion as Beyoncé took home Video of the Year for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” at the end of the ceremony. During her acceptance speech, the singer shared a sweet moment with Swift as she asked her to come back out on stage and give the rest of her acceptance speech.
“This is amazing,” Beyoncé said as she accepted her award. “I remember being 17 years old, up for my first MTV award with Destiny’s Child and it was one of the most exciting moments of my life, so I would like for Taylor to come out and have her moment.”
Following Swift’s speech, the two shared a hug and left the stage together. “It was so wonderful and gracious of her,” Swift told reporters after the show. “She’s always been a great person … I thought I couldn’t love Beyoncé more and tonight happened and it was just wonderful.”
Though the night sparked Swift’s longtime feud with West, it also sparked her longtime friendship with Beyoncé. In the years since, the two have publicly shown their support for one another in the music industry, including attending each other’s concert film premieres in 2023.
