MANILA, Philippines - Eclipsing news about Ellen DeGeneres’ move to American Idol and — unfortunately — Patrick Swayze’s passing, Kanye West’s shocking but unsurprising outburst at Sunday’s MTV VMAs was exactly what we needed.
Going down in history as “Kanyegate,” the egomaniac’s impromptu speech stole the thunder meant for Taylor Swift, who was about to thank the public for her Best Female Video moon man. Whether it was the result of too much Hennessy or, as Kelly Clarkson famously blogged, not getting hugged enough as a child, the debacle has clearly produced a victim (country crooner Swift), a villain (lantern-jawed Kanyeezy) and a savior (Beyoncé). Even Barack Obama has articulated the sentiment circling the universe: He called Kanye a “jackass.”
The 32-year-old’s antics are sort of a recurring nightmare as far as live events go. Kanye first bumrushed the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2006, when his video for Touch The Sky lost out to Justice and Simian’s We Are Your Friends for Best Video. Ever the whiny bitch, he launched a tirade and announced that it “cost a million dollars, Pamela Anderson was in it. I was jumping across canyons.” Of course, the rant-related cherry on his douchebag sundae was this: “If I don’t win, the awards show loses credibility.”
In the wake of this classlessness – Katy Perry said it was like stepping on a kitten — karma has come to bite Kanye in the ass, which is where his mouth also happens to be. The Internet has accorded him the highest honor: The kids have turned his onstage meltdown into some of the most hilarious memes this week. It’s what you get when you can’t keep your big mouth shut. As the magic reveals itself, who knew that Kanye West’s tantrum would turn into him into the new Xzibit, a.k.a. the online gift that keeps on giving? — Gino de la Paz