Hmmm … it looks like Kanye West’s big mouth has finally hurt him where it matters most … in the wallet. As you may recall, Kanye very douchily stole the spotlight from Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards last month as she tried to give her Best Female Video acceptance speech and set off a firestorm of controversy with pretty much everyone on the planet (even President Obama called Kanye a “jackass” over the matter). Normally, his asshole behavior (which tends to piss off people on a regular basis) is just excused away without his needing to face any consequences. Days after the VMA incident, it was announced that Kanye would be teaming up with Lady Gaga for a co-headlinging tour called Fame Kills. Late yesterday, Live Nation released a statement annoucning that the tour has been CANCELED without offering any explanation why. Today … we know why … according to TMZ, ticket sales for the Fame Kills Tour were so low that the concert promoter decided to cut their losses before the tour even got underway … and additionally Kanye and Gaga just couldn’t get along. I guess Kanye and his “colorful behavior” don’t sell like they used to:

If Kanye West doesn’t regret hijacking Taylor Swift, he will now — we’re told his concert tour with Lady Gaga was scrapped because ticket sales sucked. And “sucked” happens to be a nicer version of the word we were told. And not only that — our insiders say another factor in the cancellation was West and Gaga’s people were at each others throats like their last names were Gosselin. When it came down do it, we’re told Gaga decided she’d be better off playing smaller venues … and far from the headache caused by Kanye’s ever present drama.

LMAOO!! Finally … perhaps, just maybe, Kanye West will finally learn that being an asshole will actually make people dislike you. How else will he learn better behavior? I find it humorous that Gaga was just days ago defending Kanye’s douchey behavior and now we learn that she couldn’t stand him either … neither one of them sound very professional. I personally had ZERO interest in seeing this show so I have no personal stake in the matter … but I did want to pass along the info to highlight the fact that being an asshole DOES have its consequences. Do I think Kanye West will learn a lesson here? Not really … but there is always hope.

[Source, Source]

Altho I haven’t made any public announcements, I think I will be following the New York Post blog Pop Wrap’s lead in NOT covering Kanye West anymore on my blog … but this is too good to not share with all y’all. In the wake of Kanye’s horribly selfish and outrageous decision to ruin Taylor Swift’s moment at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards last Sunday night, President Barack Obama was asked what he thought of Kanye’s behavior. Unknowingly, President Obama was recorded giving his honest opinion on Kanye West’s actions and was heard calling him a jackass. As it turns out, the recording of President Obama’s assessment of Kanye has made its way to the Internets, courtesy of TMZ:

TMZ has obtained the audiotape of President Barack Obama calling Kanye West a “jackass” for hijacking Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech during the VMAs. The audio was recorded just before Obama went on camera to do an interview with CNBC. Before the interview began, Obama — referring to Kanye’s antics on stage — said “I thought that was really inappropriate,” then adding, “He’s a jackass.” After making the remarks, Obama said “Where’s the pool?” Presumably, he was worried the joke would go wide. He noted the last time that happened, he got burned for killing a fly. Obama said, “Cut the President some slack.”

LMAOOOO. When the president calls you a jackass, you’re pretty much a jackass. While I’m sure President Obama wouldn’t have been quite so open with his opinions had he known he was being recorded, I’m glad that this little nugget of awesomeness was recorded for posterity. The president was only saying what pretty much everyone else believes. After the jump, hear the snippet in full …

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Another MTV Video Music Awards has come and gone and while the focus of the show should be on the touching tribute to the late Michael Jackson by his peer Madonna and his sister Janet Jackson or the coolest performance of the night by P!nk … the focus is, instead, on what an asshole Kanye West is. In true Kanye fashion, West stormed the MTV VMA stage after Taylor Swift won the first award of the night, Best Female Video, after she stunned the audience by upsetting fellow nominees P!nk, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé. As Taylor Swift was accepting her award, Kanye jumped up on the stage, took the mic from her hand and declared that Beyoncé should’ve won the award because she made “the best video of all time”. Taylor looked crushed, hurt and embarrassed and was not allowed to finish her acceptance speech … Beyoncé looked stunned and embarrassed by Kanye’s rant as well. The auditorium booed Kanye off the stage, he flipped off the crowd with his middle finger and then was asked by MTV to leave the show. Here are a few photos of the incident:

The MTV video music awards held on Sunday paid tribute to the late Michael Jackson, but was overshadowed by an outburst by rapper Kanye West, who interrupted an acceptance speech by U.S. singer Taylor Swift. West, who is known for his outspoken ways, jumped up on stage while the 19-year-old Swift was making an acceptance speech for best female video for her hit song “You Belong With Me,” beating out singers including Beyonce Knowles and Lady Gaga. “I am really happy for you,” West said. “But Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.” MTV said West, who was spotted earlier on the red carpet drinking alcohol, was ejected from an awards show already known for its circus-like atmosphere. West received loud boos from the crowd when his name was mentioned later in the show.

Kanye was seen carrying a big bottle of booze and was asked by MTV to leave the premises shortly after his rant:

Apparently, Kanye decided to go home and blog an “apology” to Taylor Swift for his outburst … but it doesn’t take a careful reading to understand that it’s not an apology at all:

This “apology” has since been removed from his official website. After the jump, check out video of this outrageous insult to Taylor Swift and see how Beyoncé managed to right the wrong a wee bit at the end of the show …

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Ego maniacal rap superstar Kanye West is usually never one to shy away from attention … but somethin’ must’ve gotten his goat up here in SoCal yesterday when he confronted a photog who was shooting him in an effort to get the pap to stop taking photos. I believe this is the first time in recorded history that Kanye West asked NOT to be photographed since that time last year he wiled out on a photog at LAX Airport:

Perhaps the gentleman was filming his bad side or mebbe Kanye just done lost his mind but for him to ask not to be photographed seems very strange to me. Not for nothin’ but Kanye West is one of the most fame hungry musicians out there …but I suppose Kanye needs to diva out every once in a while. I don’t think it’s a good idea for him to start asking for people to stop paying attention to him because one day (mebbe sooner than he would like), people will stop.

[Photo credit: Splash News, thanks Monique]

Rap superstar Kanye West surfaced in Miami, FL this week with his ladylove companion/model Amber Rose lookin’ like he was chillin’ like a villain’ on penicillin. Kanye and Amber lazed by the beach, he is in his cool dudes, she in a barely there string bikini that she only wore half of … pimpin’, y’all:

Kanye West had quite the “booty call” on Tuesday. The rapper romped with his on-again girlfriend, model Amber Rose, on the beaches of Miami. Rose had no problem baring it all: She frolicked topless — and almost bottomless — while canoodling with her man on the beach throughout the day. Um, Amber, it’s Miami, not Europe!

LOL, you know what … I say, work it girl! Amber Rose has got a slammin’ body and as a model, I’m sure she’s very comfortable being nekkid at any given time. Kanye looks like a pimp daddy when he’s with her, it’s like a win-win sitch all the way around. To be honest, Ms. Rose kinda irritated me the first time I saw her but she has grown on me. I love her attitude and her style … she looks fun. As long as she’s the one gettin’ nekkid and not Kanye, I have no problem with photos like these ;)

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin; Source]

Last night the 9th annual BET Awards were handed out at the Shrine Auditorium here in Los Angeles, CA and earlier today we saw video of Janet Jackson’s appearance on the awards show where she delivered a statement to fans of her late brother Michael Jackson. As I noted earlier, the entire BET Awards were a tribute to Michael’s memory. Here are a few photos from the red carpet arrivals from last night’s awards show:

I LOVED seeing the cast of Bravo TV’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta … including alums NeNe Leakes (FTW!), Lisa Wu Hartwell, Sheree Whitfield and new castmember Kandi Burruss. I am really looking forward to the return of the Atlanta Housewives in August :) I also love the photo of Zoe Saldana and Nichelle Nichols (who both portrayed the Star Trek character Uhura) together on the red carpet … beautiful, beautiful ladies. The show itself was very entertaining … in between award presentations and live performances, host Jamie Foxx made sure to remind the audience that this year’s BET Awards was a true celebration of Michael Jackson’s legacy. Here are a few pics from the show itself and a rundown of what went down:

Michael Jackson’s sister Janet thanked the crowd at the BET Awards Sunday night for paying tribute to her late brother. “My entire family wanted to be here, but it was just too painful,” she said, holding back tears. “To you Michael is an icon. To us Michael is family. And he will forever live in all of our hearts.” The star-studded BET Awards was an appreciation of Michael Jackson, who died Thursday at age 50. He was “the greatest star in the world,” Joseph Jackson, father of the late entertainer, said on Sunday night. “I wish the world had recognized him when he were living,” Joseph Jackson told CNN’s Don Lemon outside the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. “Right now he’s bigger than ever. But I wish he was here to see all this, to hear all this.” When asked about circumstances surrounding his son’s death, he said, “I have a lot of concerns but I can’t get into that. … I don’t like what happened.” The awards opened with a fleet-footed New Edition, with Bobby Brown, performing an energized version of the Jackson 5 hit “The Love You Save,” to raucous praise. Host Jamie Foxx wore a red, leather “Beat It” jacket for his opening monologue and did his best to imitate Jackson’s backward glide across the floor. In addition to Foxx, presenter Jeremy Piven mixed praise for Jackson with comic relief. “If it wasn’t for Michael Jackson, people like Justin Timberlake would be selling curly fries in the valley,” the actor said. “I mean that with love.” This year’s performers included, Beyonce, Keyshia Cole and R&B artist Neyo who performed a hard-hitting tribute to the 1990s with appearances by acts Keith Sweat, Guy and Bell Biv Devoe. The presenters included the past and present Uhura of “Star Trek”: Zoe Saldana, who starred in the film, and Nichelle Nichols of the TV show. The show also honored the soulful Ohio trio, The O’Jays, who were presented the Lifetime Achievement Award. Tevin Campbell performed a rendition of The O’Jays classic “Forever Mine.” Johnny Gill, Tyrese and Trey Songz performed a rumbling, soulful medley of The O’Jays hits that had some in the audience wondering if Songz was older than his years. Among the award winners, Atlanta, Georgia-based singer Keri Hilson, who was nominated in four categories, received best new artist and Beyonce won best female artist. Debra L. Lee, chairman and chief executive officer of Black Entertainment Television, said Jackson’s death both saddened and energized the awards organizers. “When we heard the news of Michael Jackon’s passing we knew immediately we’d have to change the nature of this show,” she said. “We put the show together in a matter of three or four days. It’s truly been a labor of love for us,” Lee said.

I was able to watch the show myself and it really was a very celebratory event. Except for a few touching moments, it really looked like everyone was having a great time. To be honest, I think that is the best way to honor someone’s passing. It was said many times during the BET Awards show last night — Michael Jackson was directly responsible for last night’s awards show. His trailblazing legacy as an African American performer paved the way for all of the African American artists who are enjoying successful careers today. I think it was right that his contributions were honored … and celebrated. Congrats to all of this year’s winners of BET Awards.

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin, Wireimage; Source]

Rihanna has made her return to the world of music video … but has not done so on her own. At a conference for the Def Jam record label here in NYC this week, a new music video by Kanye West for his song Paranoid was screened for the attendees — and, lo and behold, Rihanna guest stars in the clip for the majority of the video. She doesn’t sing on the track, she just appears in the video. Some industrious chap managed to record the clip in its entirety … here are a few screencaps from the video:

Someone got all Nancy Drew at a recent Def Jam conference and recorded this sneak peek of Kanye West and Rihanna’s new video for “Paranoid.” Nice work, gumshoes! The black and white title cards start off with words like “deceit,” “heartache” and “betrayal” — hmm I wonder why? Then it fades to a remarkable-looking Rihanna in nothing but a black teddy and tons of body lotion. Oh yeah, and she is laying in bed. This video is going to be one huge, Paula Abdul like, open hand slap to the face for Chris Brown. Although she doesn’t sing in the video (which is weird) Rihanna laughs uncontrollably, drives an old car ala green screen (very David Lynch-like) and comes across as the one who is going to truly shine after all this C. Brown mess is said and done. It’s more or less a three minute “look at me, I’m not phased” celebration. The song is truly brilliant and the video is by far some of Kanye’s best work. So get ready, and hold onto your morning bagel kids, because I am about to say something I thought I would never ever say. Nice work, Kanye.

In my personal estimation, there are better Kanye West songs but to each their own. The track is pretty good … but it will undoubtedly get a lot of attention because of Rihanna’s guest appearance. After the jump, check out Kanye and Rihanna in Paranoid …

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