When Taylor Swift won the award for Best Female Video at the 2009 VMAs, rapper Kanye West stormed the stage and ambushed her acceptance speech.
He grabbed the mic from her and said, “Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you, Imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.”
Now, 14 years after this controversial moment, Twilight star Taylor Lautner – who presented the award to the Lavender Haze singer – has admitted he thought it was a pre-planned skit.
During an episode of The Squeeze podcast, Lautner was asked by his now-wife Taylor Dome if there was a career moment he could live through again.
“Probably the 2009 VMAs when I presented the award to Taylor,” he replied. “[I] was unaware that the Kanye thing was not a skit.”
At the time, Lautner and Swift were dating and the Valentine’s Day star recalls being confused and unsure what to do about Kanye’s decision to interrupt her speech.
“Yeah [we had just gone public with our relationship] and I presented the award to her, so I gave her the award [and] I took five steps back and was standing five feet behind her,” he continued.
“In the middle of giving her thank-you speech, Kanye jumps up onto the stage.”
He added: “I can barely hear it. I can’t see them. I’m just assuming that this whole thing was a practiced and rehearsed skit because why else would Kanye West be jumping up on the stage, interrupting Taylor Swift? It just didn’t make sense.”
Lautner said he only realised Swift was hurt by the incident after Kanye left the stage and he “saw her face”, realising it wasn’t “good”.
