<p id=”par-1_39″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/kanye-west/”>Kanye West</a> received massive backlash for crashing the stage and <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/pink-kanye-west-interrupting-taylor-swift-speech.html/”>interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech</a> at the 2009 VMAs. But before then, West almost crashed a bigger stage when his friend Justin Timberlake came up short at the Grammys.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-kanye-west-wanted-to-stand-up-to-the-grammys-for-justin-timberlake”>Kanye West wanted to stand up to the Grammys for Justin Timberlake</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Justin-Timberlake-Kanye-West.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Kanye West posing onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden in a white outfit.” class=”wp-image-3785769″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Kanye West | Theo Wargo/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-2_64″>West has a history of speaking out against award shows, especially the Grammys. In a 2013 interview with <a href=”https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/arts/music/kanye-west-talks-about-his-career-and-album-yeezus.html?pagewanted=all”>The New York Times</a>, West took issue with music’s most prestigious ceremony <a href=”https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/arts/music/kanye-west-talks-about-his-career-and-album-yeezus.html?pagewanted=all” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>gifting him several nominations and awards</a> except the highly coveted Album of the Year. He especially felt he deserved the accolade when he released two highly acclaimed and profitable records within the same year.</p>
<p id=”par-3_78″>“[<em>My Beautiful] Dark [Twisted] Fantasy</em> and <em>Watch the Throne</em>: neither was nominated for Album of the Year, and I made both of those in one year. I don’t know if this is statistically right. But I’m assuming I have the most Grammys of anyone my age. But I haven’t won one against a white person,” he said. “But the thing is, I don’t care about the Grammys; I just would like for the statistics to be more accurate.”</p>
<p id=”par-4_45″>But West didn’t just disparage the Grammys when he felt they snubbed him. He also defended his peers like Justin Timberlake and Gnarls Barkley for being underappreciated by the award ceremony. Timberlake’s album <em>FutureSex/LoveSounds </em>was nominated for Best Album of the Year in 2007. </p>
<figure class=”wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio” id=”emb-2″><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<iframe title=”Kanye West “crashing” Beck’s Album Of The Year Acceptance Speech | GRAMMYs” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/NV-ZlHFzQC4?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>
<p id=”par-5_64″>Additionally, Gnarls Barkley’s <em>St. Elsewhere </em>was considered for the prize as well that same year. Both lost out to the Dixie Chicks album <em>Taking the Long Way</em>. This didn’t sit right with West. It only reminded the fashion mogul of all the times he didn’t win Album of the Year. So much so that he wanted to fight for Timberlake’s honor during the ceremony.</p>
<p id=”par-6_76″>“I really appreciate the moments that I was able to win rap album of the year or whatever,” West said. “But after a while, it’s like, ‘Wait a second. This isn’t fair. This is a setup.’ I remember when both Gnarls Barkley and Justin lost for Album of the Year, and I looked at Justin, and I was like, ‘Do you want me to go onstage for you? You know, do you want me to fight?’”</p>
<p id=”par-7_21″>West also explained what he hoped to accomplish by speaking up for other artists, whether during interviews or on the stage.</p>
<p id=”par-8_80″>“I am so credible and so influential and so relevant that I will change things,” West added. “So when the next little girl that wants to be, you know, a musician and give up her anonymity and her voice to express her talent and bring something special to the world, and it’s time for us to roll out and say, ‘Did this person have the biggest thing of the year?’ — that thing is more fair because I was there.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-how-justin-timberlake-responded-to-kanye-west”>How Justin Timberlake responded to Kanye West</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio” id=”emb-3″><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<iframe title=”360 VR: Kanye West VMA Vanguard Speech Highlights | MTV VMA 2015″ width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/r7mLs9LeQB4?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>
<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kanye-ye-west-questions-cassie-ventura-extorted-sean-diddy-combs.html/”>
Kanye ‘Ye’ West Questions Whether Cassie Ventura ‘Extorted’ Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs </a>
</p>
</div>
<p id=”par-9_57″>It wasn’t the only time West aired his grievances about the Grammys’ treatment of Timberlake. West once went on a rant at the 2015 VMAs, where he questioned the legitimacy and potential biases of award shows. He highlighted Timberlake’s reaction to his 2007 Grammy loss, asserting that the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/nsync-then-now-pics-boy-band-nearly-3-decades-later.html/”>NSYNC alum</a> teared up after leaving the show emptyhanded.</p>
<p id=”par-10_112″>“I sat at the Grammys and saw Justin Timberlake and CeeLo lose. Gnarls Barkley and the ‘Sexyback’ album… Justin, I ain’t trying to put you on blast, but I saw that man in tears, bro,” West said, according to <a href=”https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/vmas-kanye-west-full-speech-video-vanguard-6678715/”>Billboard</a>. “And I was thinking like, he deserved to win Album of the Year. And the small box that we are as entertainers of the evening, how could you explain that? Sometimes I feel like, you know, all this s*** they run about beef and all that, sometimes I feel like I died for the artist’s opinion, for an artist to have an opinion after they were successful. I’m not a politician, bro!”</p>
<p id=”par-11_20″>Timberlake reacted to West’s speech on social media. After joking about West’s comments, he showed solidarity with the “Heartless” singer.</p>
<p id=”par-12_23″>“Btw… I JUST watched my man ‘Ye’s FULL speech… He always has a point. And I support it,” he posted, according to <a href=”https://www.buzzfeed.com/keelyflaherty/justin-timberlake-isnt-mad-at-kanye-west-for-telling-everyon” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Buzzfeed</a>.</p>