The internet is still abuzz with all this talk of Kanye West this and Lil Mama that, but am I the only one wondering why MTV was asleep at the wheel? Nobody seems to want to point the finger at them, and I don't hear any apologies being issued from MTV. Don't tell me they don't have security up there. And this is not the first time that people have rushed the stage at the VMAs or MTV Movie Awards either. What if some drunk celebrity actually had ill intent when running up there to crash the party, something VIOLENT rather than just something stupid? They see somebody rushing up to the stage who has nothing to do with the artist or project that's receiving the accolade, and they just let it slide to let the controversy happen? Do you think they would let that happen at the Grammys or the American Music Awards? I don't.
But here's a thought: What if the entire thing was planned? These moments are now the most talked about aspect of the VMAs, far overshadowing the awards and the Michael Jackson tributes. Janet Jackson put in WORK to crank out that performance, and yet the apparently spontaneous stupidity has gotten much more airtime. It's gotten MTV, Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Lil Mama, and even Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Alicia Keys, heaps of attention.
It's not too far-fetched to wonder if it was all planned, kind of like the Eminem and Bruno stunt from a few months back at the movie awards. Consider this: How is it that Lil Mama launched right into that b-boy stance at the end of the Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performance at the exact same moment as they did? Was she at rehearsals? Otherwise how did she know? It looked too seamless to be spontaneous.
Planned or not, I really miss the days when people could make the headlines with some really amazing music, rather than something shocking or disturbing or just plain classless. I have always thought of Kanye as a great artist despite his constant flirtations with shock value, but now I've lost respect for that art because he did something that, even drunk, he should have known was way out of line. Getting blasted out of your mind at an awards show, even something as low-key and crazy as the VMAs, was also pretty lame, but had he remained in his seat I could have let that slide in the name of having a good time. I can't deal with stealing someone's moment though, excuse-laden apology or not. (Having said all that, I should explain that I care a little less about the Lil Mama thing because she's not someone who I've ever even remotely followed or even been aware of. I know her name, and that's it. No disrespect to her when I say that, I'm just not familiar with her work.)
Whether it was all in the script or not, I'd really like to see MTV shoulder some of the blame for what went down. I think they owe Taylor Swift an apology just as much as Kanye did. Jay-Z and Alicia will be just fine, they're grown folks and they've faced a lot worse than that. But Taylor's young and that was her first VMA, you know? MTV let it happen and then they rushed the next skit onto the screen before she had a chance to recover and speak. Wouldn't want to waste that precious ad space for the commercials, gotta keep it rolling, right? Ugh. Don't tell me that money is more important than her big moment. Without people like her who create the music, MTV would not exist.
Thoughts? Share 'em in the comments.
