2009 : At the 2009 Video Music Awards , singer-songwriter Taylor Swift won Best Female video for " You Belong with Me . " During her acceptance speech , rapper Kanye West unexpectedly showed up on stage . Taking the microphone from Swift , he announced " Yo Tay , I 'm really happy for you , and Imma let you finish , but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time . One of the best videos of all time ! " MTV cut away from the stage ( showing Beyoncé with an embarrassed look ) after West gave the microphone back to Swift and giving the middle finger to the audience as they started booing him off stage , and so Swift did not finish her speech . West was removed for the rest of the show . However , when Beyoncé won Video of the Year for " Single Ladies ( Put a Ring on It ) , " she called Swift back on stage to " have her moment " ( finishing her speech from winning Best Female Video ) . In an off-the-record portion of an interview the following day , President Barack Obama called West a " jackass " for his antics . During a post-interview , Jay-Z admitted West was wrong to go on stage , but he thought people were overreacting to the incident
2009 Video Music Awards
2009 MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Award