 The song 's accompanying music video was directed by Roman White . The video featured Swift portraying two characters , a nerd ( the protagonist and narrator ) and a popular girl ( the antagonist and girlfriend ) , while American actor Lucas Till portrayed the male lead . The video 's plot centers on the protagonist secretively loving the male lead , although he has a girlfriend . The video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards , but during Swift 's acceptance speech , rapper Kanye West interrupted , protesting in support of Beyoncé . The incident caused a reaction in the media , with most people coming to Swift 's defense . The song was performed live at numerous venues , including the 2009 – 10 Fearless Tour , where it was the opening number . It was covered by various artists , including Butch Walker and Selena Gomez & the Scene , and parodied by " Weird Al " Yankovic . 
