Kanye West has always been known for his brash ego and attitude. No one says “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” live on air without the fearlessness to speak his mind about anything. However, a U.S. president was one thing. Interrupting Taylor Swift live on television on this day 17 years ago was another entirely. The 19-year old Swift won the MTV VMA for Best Female Video for “You Belong With Me” against the likes of Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Katy Perry, and most notably, Beyoncé. Swift graciously accepted the award with a smile, grateful she even had a chance to win at all.However, not long into her speech, Kanye West randomly appeared from the crowd and onto the screen to make his thoughts known. “Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you, and I’mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!” Ye said. Naturally, Beyoncé was absolutely astounded he would interrupt Taylor Swift’s speech to say that. West, meanwhile, just shrugged his shoulders and looked at the crowd before handing the microphone back. Naturally, the internet made countless memes that night. But little did we know that moment at the VMAs radically changed the trajectory of both Taylor Swift’s and Kanye West’s careers.Kanye West Upsets Literally Everyone After Interrupting Taylor Swift on This Day in 2009The day after the 2009 VMAs, Ye apologized for interrupting Taylor Swift on Jay Leno’s late-night show. “It’s been a difficult day,” he said. “I’m just dealing with the fact that I hurt someone or took anything away from a talented artist or from anyone, because I only wanted to help people … I immediately knew in this situation that it was wrong … It’s someone’s emotions that I stepped on. It was rude, period.”The apology did not stop the immense backlash he would face. Even President Barack Obama called him a jacka**. Taylor Swift mostly kept everything pretty light, joking about it on Saturday Night Live. However, some people found her song “Innocent” to be a bit patronizing towards Kanye West. Though she never confirmed it was explicitly about him, it definitely seemed like it at the time. “It’s all right / Just wait and see / Your string of lights is still bright to me / Who you are is not where you’ve been / You’re still an innocent / … It’s OK / Life is a tough crowd / 32 and still growing up now,” Swift crooned.Kanye West would eventually embrace his villainous role on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. An interview with The New York Times saw him call the album his “backhanded” way of trying to get back into the public’s good graces. “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was my long, backhanded apology. You know how people give a backhanded compliment? It was a backhanded apology,” Ye explained. “It was like, all these raps, all these sonic acrobatics. I was like, ‘Let me show you guys what I can do, and please accept me back. You want to have me on your shelves.’”Ye and Swift Eventually Feuded AgainMeanwhile, Taylor Swift transitioned from country darling to pop superstar and icon. Their feud was seemingly dead for a while. Swift even presented Kanye West with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, joking about past tensions. But when Ye released “Famous” in 2016, they got into another ugly public spat. He rapped, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b***h famous.”Taylor Swift disapproved of the lyrics at first, with her rep claiming he didn’t clear anything on her end. However, Kanye West’s then-wife Kim Kardashian debunked the claim, eventually releasing footage of Taylor Swift giving the green light over the phone. Then, the backlash fell in Swift’s court. She’d eventually embrace the picture of a villain, sharing visuals of snakes and dissing Kanye West on songs like “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”. “There I was giving you a second chance /If only you weren’t so shady / But you stabbed me in the back while shaking my hand / And therein lies the issue / Friends don’t try to trick you / Get you on phone and mind-twist you,” Taylor Swift sang on the track.Nowadays, Kanye West and Taylor Swift are on different paths entirely. The former is on an informal apology tour, performing classic songs and reuniting with old friends after years of controversy. The latter remains one of the biggest pop stars in the world, eventually embracing the role of “anti-hero” instead. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)The post 17 Years Ago Today, Kanye West’s Career Changed Forever After Interrupting Taylor Swift’s 2009 VMAs Speech appeared first on VICE.