He may not have pulled his usual tantrum on stage, in front of hundreds of other artists and millions of viewers, but Kanye made sure to desecrate the win of a fellow Grammy award-winning artist before the night was over.
After walking up to the mic for a fake-out, certainly giving poor T-Swift some flashbacks, Kanye laughed his way back to his seat. Beyoncé and Jay smiled after brief glimpses of fear glazed over their eyes. Beck, winner of "Album of the Year," was allowed by Yeezy to give his acceptance speech. Beck being a seasoned veteran most likely would have handled a Kanye award assault unlike a pre-Shake it Off Taylor Swift. The triple Grammy winner for the night even gestured Kanye back on stage. I'd like to think Beck figured, "Why not let him embarass himself?"
People are saying that Beck "held his cool" during his performance with Chris Martin after Kanyegate. I'm not sure why he's supposed to have been not cool: he won three awards and performed in front of a room of his peers. Kanye, if anyone, held his cool. Then the E! After Party happened.
It's no secret that the Kardashians run the E! Network. The new Mr. Kardashian showed how strong their hold really is over the fashion/celebrity/reality show channel. He berated the producers of the after party special for using microphones with their logo on them...Then Ye, as he's called, continued to belittle the station for not giving the Kardashian Klan more control, more money, more respect, claiming E! is nothing without them. Kim looked longingly at her husband as he whined and complained followed by spinning her around like a show pony. She simply said she is "the luckiest girl in the world."
While the Kimye segment seemed to be never ending, Kanye was asked about his almost-moment on stage during "Album of the Year." His response was nothing short of: Beck should have been decent enough to give his award to Beyoncé. It is one thing to want your friend to win every award. It is one thing to think Beyoncé is the literal best. It is one thing to not like every artist nominated. It is, however, wildly innapropriate to degrade and belittle a fellow Grammy award-winning artist on live television. His list of reasons only explained that HE thinks Beck needs to respect artistry and the Grammys are messing around with the real artists. In his own words, I'll let him prove my point:
"...Beck needs to respect artistry, he should have given his award to Beyoncé. At this point, we tired of it. What happens is, when you keep on diminishing art, and not respecting the craft, and smacking people in the face after they deliver monumental feats of music, you're disrespectful to inspiration. We, as musicians, have to inspire people who go to work every day, and they listen to that Beyoncé album..."
In just that small snippet, Ye accuses Beck of not being an artist, the Grammys of smacking the "best" musicians in the face by not awarding Beyoncé and suggests that people ONLY listen to Beyoncé. While preaching that artists deserve respect and that creativity and inspiration should be rewarded, he is blatantly disrespecting an artist and diminishing a performer's award. Kanye claims he walked away from the mic on stage to protect his wife and child, and his clothing line. That's when he threatens to not play with the all encompassing "them" anymore. Will he boycott the Grammys? The music industry as a whole? Unlikely because he needs a stage to get the attention he thrives on.
And all this teaches us is that bullies are everywhere. We struggle to rid our children's schools of bullies and harmful influences around them. Here is a blatant example of a bully. Kanye West doesn't get his way so he picks on those he considers beneath him. He uses his obsession with Beyoncé winning awards as an excuse. The bottom line is tonight, he harassed Beck and his music as well as the entire Recording Academy for not giving his friends a trophy. Kim said her husband should have grabbed the mic from Beck and continued the streak of hateful behavior by posting on her Instagram a picture of shocked faces at Beck's win. E! Live perpetuated the bully's rant by not changing the subject or cutting him off. Instead, the slew of guest hosts cheered on Kanye.
My little blog and strong opinions won't make a difference. Millions of people will still buy Kanye's music, they will laugh at Beck's expense and say cruel things in support of a grown man bullying an innocent buystander. No one will hold either half of Kimye accountable for anything, quite frankly. All we can do is support our own beliefs and protest those who promote bullying anywhere at any time--in schools, on TV, around the Internet. The academy should hold Kanye accountable for his behavior instead of rewarding him with nominations and multiple performance slots. Stop bullying.
