Today's Evil Beet Gossip

My Company Would Like You to Know They’re Not Behind the Kanye Rant

Ahhh, Monday-morning quarterbacking. Rumors abound on the Internet today that perhaps MTV intentionally staged the Kanye rant for the publicity. (Note: I don’t think that’s true at all. In case you didn’t hear, I think Kanye’s an obnoxious alcoholic piece of shit who needs to think good and hard before he next decides to get wasted at a live televised event.)

But then it gets even weirder. RealNetworks — the company I work for, and which handles most of the advertising on this site — has a music product called Rhapsody (which FINALLY runs on the iPhone now, woot woot!). Rhapsody had purchased ad space at the VMAs long ago, to run immediately after Taylor Swift’s performance of “You Belong to Me.” The ad has a voice-over that says “This moment belongs to Taylor Swift.” In light of the voice-over and the Kanye West incident prior, there have been rumors circulating that Rhapsody was somehow involved in MTV’s “staging” of the Kanye West rant.

Apparently news of my love for Taylor Swift is so widespread at that company that a rep for the PR and marketing team actually stopped me in the hall today to let me know that the company had NOTHING to do with any rumored “staging” of the Kanye rant. I thought that was pretty funny. They were worried I’d hear the rumors and be pissed. The company also took to the RealNetworks blog today to deny any involvement: Let’s go ahead and put this rumor to rest. IF the “Kanye Incident” is part of a larger PR stunt by our friends at MTV, it’s news to us.

And I believe them, because if RealNetworks did have anything to do with my beloved Taylor Swift’s shining moment being ruined, I’m sure my badge wouldn’t have worked this morning. There’s NO WAY they would have let me in the building knowing how pissed I would have been.

The commercial in question is above.

9 CommentsLeave a comment

  • > ” I think Kanye’s an obnoxious alcoholic piece of shit who needs to think good and hard before he next decides to get wasted at a live televised event.”

    Oh give me a break. This wasn’t the Academy Awards or Nobel Peace Prize. This was a freaking music video award show from a not very relevant TV station.

    What you are pissed about is that a black man was rude to the pretty white lady.

    The show thrives on controversy. They are desperate to get people to tune in. Think of some of the other previous stunts for ratings and attention ie fake lesbians kissing, completely stoned Britney Spears given stage time when she was totally bat-shit crazy.

    You applaud it when the media whore Madonna would insult the pope and the catholic church and will do ANYTHING to get in the press. You applaud it when Lady Gaga hangs a fake penis between her legs. You applaud it when Janet Jackson shows off her tit. Here a black man does something equally stupid and you roast him with hatred.

    It was a freaking stunt and nothing more. The sort of people that enjoy his music would find his behavior amusing. He doesn’t care that the rich white ladies in the audience are offended. You don’t buy his records.

    • PS, my post isn’t aimed at any one specific person. A lot of posters on this website have said some nasty things about Kanye.

      Personally I don’t like his music but then again I prefer his brand of honesty compared to all the fake pop shit that most people seem to like.

      • Indeed. Whatever “piling on the black guy” is going on has a hell of a lot more to do with the fact that an adult, arrogant SOB was unforgivably rude in a very public way to a girl whose very persona is “innocent next door.” If a middle aged white asshole had done the same thing to an 18 year old ingenue black singer, I’d be just as disgusted.

  • Taylor has more talent in one of her pubic hairs than Kanye or that other no talent Jay Z. Ever hear Jay Z try to sing? You tube it, you’ll laugh for hours.

  • totally unrelated to all the above but did anyone else notice that the girl in the commercial looks like Kim from ANTM cycle 5???

    • It probaby is her, she works for MTV–I’ve seen here hosting something or doing something on there before (but I can’t remember what).

      Oh and I just remembered that at the end of the awards show, Lil Mama came up onto the stage while Jay Z was performing and she wasn’t supposed to be there. So what the hell was up with that? Apparently she also ‘apologized’ for interrupting his performance.