Kanye West took to the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday and delivered yet another memorable – and confusing – speech.
In his cryptic monologue, he shared his insights on life, politics and fame. There was no mention of his 2020 presidential run, though, which he announced at the 2015 award show.
But, of course, he took the opportunity to call out Taylor Swift, fueling the fire behind their infamous 2009 VMA feud.
Here are seven of the weirdest moments of his speech:
1. He started with a Beyoncé compliment, naturally: “Now, later tonight, ‘Famous’ might lose to Beyoncé but I can’t be mad. I’m always wishing for Beyoncé to win.” How selfless, Kanye.
2. He took issue with the way “those on the inside of the TV” are portrayed: “You know, just to put … the audacity to put Anna Wintour right next to Donald Trump. I mean, I put Ray J in there bro!”
3. But that’s just how fame works, so he says. “This is fame, bro! Like, I see you Amber [Rose] … my wife is a G…” Wait, where does that Kim Kardashian West reference fit in?
4. He segued into this boat commentary, which was slightly contradictory: “We came over in the same boat, now we’re all in the same bed. Well, maybe different boats.” So, which is it, Kanye? His “bed” joke alluded to his relationship with former girlfriend Amber Rose.
5. Then he got deep, real deep: “If you’re seeing people dying next to you, you might think, what’s the point? Life can start to feel worthless in a way.”
6. Kanye named his role models, and he was one of them: “They tell me don’t compare yourself to Steve Jobs. They tell me don’t compare yourself to Walt Disney … My role models are artists, merchants. There is less than 10 I can name in history: Truman, Ford, Hughes, Disney, Jobs, West.”
7. And he didn’t make it off the stage without a Taylor Swift reference: “You know, like, people come up to me like, ‘Man, that’s right… Take Taylor? I love all y’all. That’s why I called her!” He was referring to a call released on Snapchat by Kim Kardashian, where West asks Swift for permission to reference her in his song, “Famous.”
