No bro, they didn’t know what was happening! Kanye West‘s ridiculous Michael Jackson Vanguard Award acceptance speech was shocking to the audience inside L.A.’s Microsoft Theater and the millions of viewers who tuned in to the live broadcast of the 2015 MTV VMAs — and even the people orchestrating the show.
A source tells Us Weekly exclusively that West’s bizarre speech at the VMAs came as a complete shock to everyone, because nobody knew what he had up his sleeve.
“In the weeks leading up to the show Kanye went back and forth,” the insider tells Us. “He was initially going to perform and had many ideas. Then, he said he didn’t want to come at all. Then, he said he would come and not perform. The day of the show there was talk that he might perform.”
It looked like his speech even shocked his own family members, including his pregnant wife, Kim Kardashian, mom-in-law Kris Jenner, and sisters-in-law Kylie Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian. Award presenter and West’s former nemesis Taylor Swift also seemed shocked by his onstage antics as she stood directly, awkwardly beside Kim in the audience.
“Literally, up until he got onstage, no one was clear if he was going to perform or not,” the source adds to Us. “No one knew he was going to do that insane speech or what he was going to do.”
In fact, insiders thought he would deliver an impromptu performance when the “FourFiveSeconds” rapper, 38, first got onstage and grinned… without saying anything for several minutes. “When he had that long moment of silence, everyone was sure he was going to start rapping,” the source tells Us.
Instead, he started talking. And talking. West delivered an incredibly memorable and completely off-the-wall speech while accepting his career honor. His moment included a mix of “bros, listen to the kids,” sweet fatherhood quotes and anecdotes, an admission that he “rolled up a little something” before hitting up the show, and a bold declaration that he has “decided in 2020 to run for president!”
Tell Us: Were you surprised by West’s VMAs speech?