Is there anyone that people love to hate more than Kanye West? Between his endless ranting and his holier-than-thou attitude, Kanye’s incessant narcissism never fails to make headlines. The “voice of a generation” has run into some bad publicity on numerous occasions, so we thought we’d highlight some of Kanye’s most cringe-worthy moments. Without further ado…
1. A Drunken Kanye Crashes Taylor Swift’s MTV Award Acceptance
Perhaps the most well-known incident in Kanye lore is his drunken tirade during Taylor Swift’s acceptance for Best Music Video at the MTV Video Music Awards. Kanye runs on-stage, interrupting Swift and saying: “Taylor I’m really happy for you… but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.” You can watch the clip (via the Today Show recap) below:
Kanye later apologized to Swift, and, several years later, said the following to Ryan Seacrest: “You know what? I would not want some crazy drunk rock star cutting my daughter off. But, my daughter would 100-percent also be like, ‘Yes Beyoncé did have the best video.’ That’s what my daughter would do!” I think he’s learned his lesson.
[Source: E! Online]
2. Kanye Films A Cameo For Anchorman 2… And Never Leaves The Set
In an interview, Will Ferrell explains that, in order to be as convenient as possible, anyone shooting a cameo in the movie would be in and out quickly. However, Ferrell says that, “Kanye didn’t want to leave.” After showing his appreciation for the movie and the comedy genre, Kanye stayed on-set for the entire day, and even came back the next day to get some work done. Watch the interview below (Starting around 1:50):
In a different article from Huffington Post, Ferrell also commented on Kanye’s behavior on set, saying, “He was playing the new tracks a lot — over and over. Even when you’re trying to film, he’s playing the tracks.” Yeezus.
3. Kanye Disses Veteran Photographer Annie Liebovitz
Kanye hired photographer Annie Liebovitz to take a wedding picture for him and Kim Kardashian. Unfortunately, due to scheduling complications, Liebovitz was unable to attend the shoot. Angrily, Kanye commented that Liebovitz was “scared of the idea of the celebrity.” Mind you, Liebovitz has photographed John Lennon and Barack Obama, to name a few.
Leave it to Kanye to insult the most renowned celebrity photographer in recent history.
[Via The Daily Beast]
4. Kanye Goes Off-Script At A Hurricane Katrina Fundraiser
In an appearance on a live, televised fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina, Kanye decided to ignore the teleprompter, and instead delivered a rant on unfair treatment and racism. You can watch Mike Myers, who appeared with Kanye, trying to play it cool, despite what are clearly inappropriate remarks.
“George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” Not the time, Kanye, not the time…
[Via TIME]
5. Kanye’s 2008 Bonnaroo Debacle
This story recently resurfaced, as Kanye headlined the 2014 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, but merits a re-telling. Kanye was set to headline the festival in 2008, with a scheduled set time of 8:45 PM. However, Kanye demanded the set be rescheduled, since his performance relies on the light show (it was the “Glow In The Dark” tour), and 8:45 PM wasn’t late enough. After settling on 2:45 AM (because everyone wants to see Kanye at three in the morning), Kanye didn’t even appear until 4:45, a full eight hours after the initial time.
Nine days later, the following post appeared on Kanye’s blog:
“WE WERE OBVIOUSLY DEALING WITH FUCKING IDIOTS WHO DIDN’T REALLY HAVE THE CAPACITY TO REALLY PUT ON THIS SHOW PROPERLY. THEY TRIED 2 GIVE ME A TIME SLOT WHERE IT WAS STILL LIGHT OUTSIDE … I HAVE A FUCKING LIGHT SHOW DUMB ASS, IT’S NOT CALLED GLOW IN THE DARK FOR NO REASON SQUID BRAINS!”
