Back in 2009, Taylor Swift fans worldwide were left ecstatic as the then-19-year-old won an MTV Video Music Award for her “You Belong With Me” music video.
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The singer, who was still fairly new to the industry at the time, was equally thrilled to be presented with the Best Female Video accolade by her then-boyfriend, Taylor Lautner.
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“I always dreamed about what it would be like to maybe win one of these someday, but I never actually thought that would happen,” she said onstage with a huge smile.
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“I sing country music so thank you so much for giving me a chance to win a VMA award,” she said, beaming.
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However, sadly for Swift, her acceptance speech was interrupted by none other than Kanye West.
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West memorably stormed the stage and snatched the microphone from Swift’s hand before declaring that Beyoncé should’ve won the award instead for her “Single Ladies” music video.
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“Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you — I’mma let you finish — but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!” he said.
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After catching Swift off guard, West walked offstage and returned to his seat in the audience, and many people booed him. And, needless to say, Swift — who was later reportedly left in tears backstage — appeared to be in total shock, remaining silent until MTV cut to a prerecorded segment.
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Now, Lautner — who was standing behind Swift and West as the chaos ensued — has recalled his reaction to the entire thing.
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Discussing the incident this week on his podcast, The Squeeze, Lautner firstly said that if he could relive any moment of his career, it’d be the 2009 VMAs.
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Noting that he and Swift had just gone public with their relationship, Lautner said, “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.”
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“In the middle of giving her thank you speech, Kanye jumps up onto the stage,” he said.
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Going on to explain why he didn’t jump in and defend Swift, Lautner admitted he thought the entire thing was a “rehearsed skit.”
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“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,” he said.
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Ultimately, Lautner revealed that he realized the entire thing was ~not~ a skit after he saw the devastated look on Swift’s face.
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“He jumped off, she finished [and] the second she turned back around and I saw her face for the first time, I was like, ‘Oh. No, that wasn’t good. Probably should’ve said something,’” he recalled.
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This isn’t the first time Lautner has addressed the awkward moment.
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Just months after the VMAs took place, the Twilight actor poked fun at himself for failing to defend Swift during his opening monologue on Saturday Night Live.
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“I was actually at the VMAs the night that she won the award for Best Video and Kanye West interrupted her speech,” he told the crowd.
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“I was up on stage with her when that happened, and as you can see, I really stood up for her,” he quipped as a video of the incident played onscreen and showed Lautner standing still in the background.
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Lautner went on to joke that he wished he’d karate chopped West for interrupting Swift, with his theatrical performance prompting cheers from the audience.
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source: buzzfeednews.com
