# Why does Kanye West continue to try and test the boundaries of assholish behavior? \[VMA Spoiler\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 14, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991 "2009-09-14T01:55:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/121 "2009-09-14T17:07:21Z")
Possibly because no one knows who the hell “Lil’ Mama” is. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/122 "2009-09-14T17:07:48Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It will probably move an extre hundred thousand of her records. Plus lead to a headline grabbing and financially gratifying duet with Kanye at the Grammys, or something. I don’t think it was staged, but this pretty much sums up what I think’s going to happen. There are people out there on facebook and such saying they’re going to “support” Taylor by buying her records even though they don’t like country or her music. :rolleyes: How that exactly is a way to get back at Kanye- who doesn’t even have a record out right now… I’m not sure. But basically, Kanye did Taylor a favor. She’ll realize this in the long run- and that’s why I could easily see a Duet in the works. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/123 "2009-09-14T17:08:41Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Not to nitpick or anything, but shouldn’t it be, “Kanye West doesn’t care about Taylor Swift”? No. Kayne pretended to care about Beyonce just like Bush pretended to care about black people. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/124 "2009-09-14T17:10:19Z")
> [@Ro0sh](#): > > He’s already taken on 50, and beaten him in their beef that they had. Last September 11th, 2007- 50 said he’d stop making Solo records if Kanye’s record outsold his (Kanye’s \*Graduation \*vs. 50’s _Curtis_). His record then came in 2nd place to Kanye’s. Needless to say, 50’s 4th Studio album came out last year and he’s got another one coming up soon even though. Record sales was not at all what I had in mind. Let Kanye try that rude shit with someone like 50 Cent or some other guy who wouldn’t hesitate to slap him in his fat bitch face. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/125 "2009-09-14T17:12:29Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Perhaps you should read some more of Kanye’s blog posts. His undoubtedly extensive talents do not appear to encompass wit or anything resembling it. I’ve read plenty of them. You guys are forgetting that, as foolish as he may seem, his parents were both chairs of highly respected English departments. The man is entirely aware of the words he is choosing. He’s continuing to pick on her. And that’s perhaps worse than what he did last night. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/126 "2009-09-14T17:15:23Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I’ve read plenty of them. You guys are forgetting that, as foolish as he may seem, his parents were both chairs of highly respected English departments. The man is entirely aware of the words he is choosing. Are you sure about that? The only blog post of his that I ever read was after the South Park thing, but parts of it were nearly indecipherable. And it didn’t flow well enough or seem to have any indications of being intentional. It seemed like it was written by a high school dropout rather than a college dropout. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/127 "2009-09-14T17:16:44Z")
And smart educated people are capable of giving birth to total genetic fuckups. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/128 "2009-09-14T17:20:06Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I’ve read plenty of them. You guys are forgetting that, as foolish as he may seem, his parents were both chairs of highly respected English departments. The man is entirely aware of the words he is choosing. I’m not forgetting that at all. I never knew that, because I pay as much attention to Kanye West as I do to Menudo or Perry Como. Which is to say none at all. However, I don’t care if his parents are Albert Einstein and Marie Curie. He writes like a retard. ETA: To expand on **FS** ’s point a little, my parents both have doctorates, and look at _me_. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/129 "2009-09-14T17:28:42Z")
I don’t have a cite, but I thought it was widely understood that Kanye’s bipolar. He has a long history of going nuts in public places. His handlers have to grab him and pull him off to the side. Why they failed to do so in this case I don’t know. If he was merely an asshole, you’d expect that he would only show it when it wouldn’t make him look bad. He has no such self control. Someone needs to make sure that he’s taking his meds, and that he doesn’t say anything not pre approved. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/130 "2009-09-14T17:42:19Z")
> [@Belowjob2.0](#): > > I don’t have a cite, but I thought it was widely understood that Kanye’s bipolar. A medical term for “possessing an asshole at both ends.” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/131 "2009-09-14T17:44:25Z")
Wikipedia says his dad was a photographer for the _Atlanta Journal-Constitution_ and is now a counselor. Doesn’t say anything about him being an English professor. It does say his mother was one, though I have to wonder how much influence a mother who was a college professor has on a kid who… drops out of college. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/132 "2009-09-14T17:49:52Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Wikipedia says his dad was a photographer for the _Atlanta Journal-Constitution_ and is now a counselor. Doesn’t say anything about him being an English professor. It does say his mother was one, though I have to wonder how much influence a mother who was a college professor has on a kid who… drops out of college. My bad, you are correct. I think I had read once that both parents were, but that was clearly wrong. Now, if I were Kanye, I’d somehow blame you for this, but I am gracious heh. He said in some interview that I watched once that even though dropping out hurt his mother, he did it because he wanted to pursue his art. I know most folks here don’t acknowledge that pop music or rap is anything resembling art, but the artsy side of me respects him pursuing his passion at all costs. That said, he often does display more complicated word choice and rhyme scheme in his raps than other artists, so I’d say he’s an intelligent dude. A crazy dude, but an intelligent dude. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/133 "2009-09-14T17:55:57Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > A medical term for “possessing an asshole at both ends.” Martin Lawrence has had similar problems, and he’s officially bipolar. He can be a nightmare to work with, based on what I’ve been told by coworkers who worked on some of his films. He went nuts on Tisha Campbell to the point where she had to take legal action. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/review97/fmartinlawrence.htm](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/review97/fmartinlawrence.htm) He’s been out of the news lately, so I expect they’ve got the medication mix / handler protocol under control so Martin doesn’t do anything crazy in public. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/134 "2009-09-14T18:52:04Z")
> [@drm](#): > > … it’s still a shitty thing to do to a perfectly nice **19 year old.** > [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > … it was a tacky-assed thing to do to a **17 year old**. Let her have her moment, asshole. > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > So if this is staged, how come the publicity people couldn’t have picked someone better for him to harass than a \*\*16 year old \*\*(or however old she is) girl? Think we could pump the brakes on the time machine before I’m forced to turn myself into the Thought Police, (subsecion 2B under the Olsen Twins codicle). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/135 "2009-09-14T18:54:39Z")
Her website says she was born December 13, 1989. That means she’s 19… or 44 in teenybopper-singer years. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/136 "2009-09-14T19:05:25Z")
I’m extremely annoyed at this point that the Internet has forced me to become aware of the existence of these two people. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/137 "2009-09-14T19:06:08Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Her website says she was born December 13, 1989. That means she’s 19… or 44 in teenybopper-singer years. Hey. I’m 44! Now I don’t feel so skeevy. By the way, I haven’t seen a VMA show in ages. How did A Flock of Seagulls make out this year? ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/138 "2009-09-14T19:07:12Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > I’m extremely annoyed at this point that the Internet has forced me to become aware of the existence of these two people. You cannot possibly be more bothered than me on the day I found out who Spencer and Heidi Pratt were. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/139 "2009-09-14T19:09:02Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Think we could pump the brakes on the time machine before I’m forced to turn myself into the Thought Police, (subsecion 2B under the Olsen Twins codicle). Is she actually hot? She looks pretty on tv but I can’t tell for sure under all the makeup and soft lighting. [This picture](http://cm1.theinsider.com/media/0/78/17/taylor-swift.jpg) suggests to me that she’s probably pretty doofusy-looking when she wakes up in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991/140 "2009-09-14T19:11:49Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Is she actually hot? She looks pretty on tv but I can’t tell for sure under all the makeup and soft lighting. [This picture](http://cm1.theinsider.com/media/0/78/17/taylor-swift.jpg) suggests to me that she’s probably pretty doofusy-looking when she wakes up in the morning. I don’t think she’d turn my head if I saw her walking down the street, but she’s not ugly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-kanye-west-continue-to-try-and-test-the-boundaries-of-assholish-behavior-vma-spoiler/509991.md?page=8)