Six years after Kanye West rudely interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, the two music makers are now in good terms and are friends. In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, Swift revealed how they came to reconcile, and she credited Jay Z for ending their feud.
"I feel like I wasn't ready to be friends with [West] until I felt like he had some sort of respect for me, and he wasn't ready to be friends with me until he had some sort of respect for me — so it was the same issue, and we both reached the same place at the same time," the "Shake It Off" singer told the magazine.
In the infamous, meme-generating incident, West stormed the stage at the 2009 VMAs after Swift won the award for Best Female Video. As she thanked everyone for the award, West grabbed the mic from her.
He said, "Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you. Im'ma let you finish, but Beyoncé has one of the best videos of all time!"
The incident left a mortified Swift at a loss for words. But she was given another chance to say her piece when Beyoncé won an award for "Single Ladies" in the Best Choreography category. Beyoncé told the audience about her first VMA win when she was just 17, and she called Swift to the stage to let her finish her speech.
Swift told Vanity Fair that Beyoncé's husband, Jay Z, was determined for the two artists to start afresh.
"I became friends with Jay Z, and I think it was important, for Jay Z, for Kanye and I to get along," she said.
Indeed, many were amazed when, at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards last February, a smiling West approached Swift and the two hugged and were photographed having a cheerful conversation. Later, they posed for pictures and were joined by Jay Z, and West's wife, Kim Kardashian West.
Now, the two support each other and Swift said they have reached a place where "he could say nice things about my music and I could ask him how his kid is doing."
As for a collaboration, the 25-year-old singer admitted that they haven't planned anything yet, but she said, "But hey, I like him as a person. And that's a really good, nice first step, a nice place for us to be."
