Kanye West On Jay Leno: Apologizes To Taylor Swift (VIDEO)

UPDATE: Taylor said Tuesday that Kanye has yet to reach out to her.

PREVIOUSLY: LOS ANGELES -- Kanye West used Jay Leno's prime-time debut Monday to offer another apology for ruining Taylor Swift's night at the MTV Video Music Awards and to say he's going to take some time off for reflection. (SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH)

West said he knew he was wrong the moment he handed the microphone back to Swift, when he was bathed in boos. He had interrupted Swift on Sunday night as she accepted a best female video award for "You Belong With Me," arguing that Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" was more deserving.

"It was rude, period," West said. He posted a second apology to Swift on his blog on Monday, and told Leno he wanted to apologize to the country music star in person.

West took a long pause when Leno asked what his mother would have said about the incident. West was very close to his mother, Donda, who died in November 2007. He said yes when Leno asked whether his mother would have given him a lecture.

"So many celebrities, they never take the time off," he said. "I've never taken the time off to really -- you know, just music after music and tour after tour. I'm just ashamed that my hurt caused someone else's hurt. My dream of what awards shows are supposed to be, 'cause, and I don't try to justify it because I was just in the wrong. That's period. But I need to, after this, take some time off and just analyze how I'm going to make it through the rest of this life, how I'm going to improve."

He had already been set to perform on Leno's first prime-time show on NBC, but asked for time to talk with the controversy swirling. It may have been a stroke of luck for Leno, whose daily prime-time comedy show already was the most buzzed-about fall debut. With West, it's likely to draw even more curious viewers.

It was reminiscent of when Hugh Grant appeared on the "Tonight" show with Leno in 1995 to make amends after being arrested with a prostitute -- only this time there weren't many laughs. The Grant appearance was a springboard for Leno to eclipse David Letterman in the ratings.

Leno was quick to reference the West incident with one of his first monologue jokes Monday, saying President Barack Obama had invited West and the 19-year-old Swift for a "root beer summit."

West has gotten in trouble before with ill-timed comments, raising scenes after losing awards himself at the VMAs, the Grammys and the American Music Awards. In 2005, West said during a telethon after Hurricane Katrina that President George W. Bush "doesn't care about black people."

MTV wasn't complaining on Monday. Televised on MTV, MTV2 and VH1 simultaneously on Sunday, the awards show was seen by 11 million people, according to Nielsen Media Research. That's up 21 percent over last year and was the most-watched Video Music Awards since 2002.

A corporate partner of MTV jumped to take advantage of it. Comedy Central, like MTV owned by Viacom Inc., planned to rerun four times in a row on Tuesday a "South Park" episode that poked fun at West's ego.

West spoke on Leno's show before performing with Jay-Z and Rihanna on Jay-Z's song "Run This Town."

Some of West's fans who were waiting to see the performance on Leno's show condemned the rapper.

"I thought that was very disrespectful," said Oscar Velasquez, 21, of Valley Village, Calif. "He's a great musician, but as a person, he's not a role model or anything. And I think that not only are his fans disappointed but his mom would be disappointed. I don't think she raised him like that, to be like that. I think he needs to remember that."

Velasquez said he'd remained a fan of West's after previous awards show blowups, but, "I'm getting kind of tired of it. There comes to a point where you know what? That's how you are, but you can change. And he needs to change."

Errimis Pullett, 27, of San Diego, said he planned to boo West.

He said he'd dismissed West's previous award show tantrums by telling himself, "'Oh, he's kind of misunderstood. He's a little egotistical.' But last night, just jumping in front of Taylor Swift and stealing her moment, that was ridiculous. I can't support or defend that. I'm a huge fan, bought all his CDs. ... I'm glad Beyonce stepped in and let her finish her speech up."

This time, Pullett said, "he looked more like a bully."

WATCH:

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AP Entertainment Writers David Bauder and Ryan Pearson contributed to this report.

Comments

[Arkalin]

12:10 PM on 09/20/2009

Ask yourselves what would have happened if Beyonce was getting the award and a White male singer did the same thing. Results would have been 800 times worse then what Kanye is getting. Nobody would have defended them. Think what you want, but its the truth.

[lenn007]

09:57 PM on 09/19/2009

Kanye, Kanye, I am so sick of Kanye...Hi­s behavior is conducive to that of a toddler...­the only difference is, the toddler is much smarter...­he knows when to quit...

[lovbug]

11:17 PM on 09/18/2009

so what. we are too judgmental in this country. It's the VMAs for crying out loud, they love drama. Being rude is not a crime it's just offensive. But, we are offended everyday by Fox news.

[zeeshan809]

02:48 PM on 09/18/2009

Well its good that he apologized­. But the real question is: was his apology accepted?


http://nex­t-world-wa­r.blogspot­.com

[Quixotic2]

09:44 PM on 09/17/2009

If you want to apologize, you do it to the person you did something to. Doing it before an audience without the person you are apologizin­g to being there is too ridiculous for words.

[hughie]

06:34 PM on 09/16/2009

TIME OFF FOR BAD BEHAVIOR,W­HAT A JOKE. GO TO YOUR ROOM. HE IS A JERK

[figneutron]

04:00 PM on 09/16/2009

I write from the perspectiv­e of a psychother­apist with 25 years of experience treating many patients with personalit­y disorders, in particular­, narcissist­ic personalit­y disorder. I suspect that Mr. West suffers from this lifelong mental illness and a degree that he is socially handicappe­d. He belongs to a growing group of young celebritie­s whose neurotic behavior have made them darlings of the media. I need not mention names here; how could you not know who they are? Their bizarre antics, their pouts, their exhibition­ism, their postures of entitlemen­t, and their exploitati­ons of others are all over news broadcasts and in the pages, if not on the covers, of popular magazines. Contrary to popular belief, individual­s with narcissist­ic personalit­y disorders do not have great big egos; in fact, just the opposite is true! Their grandiosit­y is a front, a defensive wall to keep others out and to hide their low self-estee­m and inner emptiness.­Their narcissism represents a false self that serves to insulate from deep emotional pain that is rooted in emotional neglect in childhood. Although in no way should we condone their abusive behavior, I believe we should reach out to them through empathy and acceptance­, acknowledg­ing how difficult it is for them to cope with relentless hurt, doubt, and fear that threatens to overwhelm them. ,

[Carson Boyd]

03:20 PM on 09/16/2009

Oscar Velasquez, 21, of Valley Village, CA said: "He's a great musician, but as a person, he's not a role model or anything."

Actually, I think West is a role model. We all are. We teach by the way that we live. Here's a guy who screwed up and then was a man about it. He apologized and in his apology I hear that he is taking on that there are things about his character that don't work too well. Haven't we all been there? Don't we all want others to forgive us and show some compassion for our shortcomin­gs? I'm not his mom, but I'm old enough to be his dad, and I'm proud of him and honored to accept his apology.

We all have lapses in character sometimes. The trick is, to respond to these lapses with character. Lead on Kanye.

[jefkoz]

07:02 PM on 09/17/2009

I disagree with your Idea of " lapse of character" missing work or not mowing your lawn is a lapse of character. This is something totally different. And by the way it is not out of character for him at all!

[Elsongs]

02:54 PM on 09/16/2009

My favorite moment was when he started to cry.

See folks, it's easy to break Kanye West. Just talk about his mother.

Actually, I think we should leave him alone, and let him do what he wants do do. But I definitely think he should be banned from speaking into a live microphone for the rest of his life (He should be entitled to his constituti­onal right to freedom of speech, just not into a live microphone­!).

[JonSmif]

02:03 PM on 09/16/2009

I don't really think the dude needs to apologize - it was a funny, albeit crass, moment. These people are mega-celeb­rities - if you can't take a little jarring, no need to be in the business. If anything, Kayne's prestige and reputation continues to grow after this. He shouldn't have apologized­. And, honestly, the girl just isn't that talented.

[CommonSenseMom]

01:49 PM on 09/16/2009

So let me get this straight: Kanye West does something incredibly selfish and wrong...an­d is rewarded with prime time interviews and publicity? Hollywood rewards the evil ones I tell you what....

Kanye needs to be tested for Adult ADHD. He is impulsive, incredibly immature, has no attention span and pretty much annoys the shi-t out of everyone around him with his loud mouth. He needs to be put on Ritalin and told to stop acting like a spoiled 5 year old.

Oh....and somebody please turn off the computer he sings through...­.we want to hear his real voice for once. I mean, he is a SINGER....­. right?

[MarieNat]

01:15 PM on 09/16/2009

He'll do this again, I promise you. He seems chastened because he got negative feedback but clearly this is someone who lives and breathes public adulation.

[MrMostly]

02:01 AM on 09/16/2009

Sorry, I didn't hear an apology.
He was sorry for himself that he had done it and called out for it but pretty clueless and inarticula­te about why exactly it was wrong.

[RobsChild]

12:30 AM on 09/16/2009

I don't like Kanye, never have. He's arrogant as he//. And yes he apologized and I believed he was sincere, but his arrogance brings out more stupidity than anything and what he did to Taylor was purely stupid.

This wasn't the first time for Kanye to serve a silly outburst and it won't be the last. He has a right to free speech, but not a right to take away someone else's glory.

Lay off the AH-AH-AH-A­H-AH-AH Alcohol

[LadyBeryl]

10:50 PM on 09/15/2009

Good apology. His sincerity is to be judge by offended and God ONLY.

Move on. Nothing more to see here.