NEW YORK (CNN) -- Even by the standards of the anything-goes MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye West's hijacking of country-pop sweetheart Taylor Swift's speech at the Sunday night ceremony was particularly brutal. Kanye West takes the microphone from Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday. The pre-show buzz had focused on the highly anticipated tribute to the late Michael Jackson, but West's disruption stole the spotlight. A giddy Swift was in the midst of her acceptance speech for Best Female Video when the often-mercurial West rushed onstage, grabbed her microphone and let loose an outburst on behalf of singer Beyonce Knowles, who had lost out in that category.
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Kanye West interrupts Taylor Swift's acceptance speech, apologizes on blog
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Beyonce Knowles later gives Swift a chance to finish her remarks
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Madonna pays bittersweet tribute to the late Michael Jackson
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Janet Jackson dances in high-energy salute at Radio City Music Hall
But audiences who stayed tuned until the end of the broadcast were treated to a touching bookend: @placeholder, the night's top winner, invited Swift onstage and gave the teen singer her moment in the spotlight.
"I'm sooooo sorry to @placeholder and her fans and her mom," the message said in all caps.