Amber Rose Reflects on Her Role in Kanye West’s 2009 VMA Stage Crash

Amber Rose has offered a surprising new perspective on one of pop culture’s most infamous moments: Kanye West’s stage interruption of Taylor Swift during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. In a candid appearance on the latest episode of the Ball in the Family Podcast, Rose suggested that her own actions that evening may have contributed to the chaotic event.

Reflecting on the night, Rose admitted, “It’s partially my fault.” She explained that the pair had been consuming Hennessy throughout the evening, which likely lowered inhibitions and fueled the impulsive behavior that followed.

“I’m like, ‘Babe, you got that bottle of Hennessy upstairs, like, you a superstar. You need to get the Henny… We need to be, you know, just taking shots of Henny on the carpet,’” Rose recalled while speaking to hosts LiAngelo Ball, Anthony Salazar, and Darren Moore. “I’m hyping him up. He’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah, let me go get the Henny.’”

The situation escalated when the award for Best Female Video was presented to Swift for “You Belong With Me,” rather than Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies.” West, fueled by the evening’s festivities, famously took the stage to declare that Beyoncé had one of the “best videos of all time.”

“And it kind of backfired,” Rose admitted. She noted that she was caught off guard by the outburst, stating, “I’m just sitting there, and then he’s on stage and I’m like, ‘Oh s—.’ I was not expecting that… Do I agree with how he did it? No. But was he right? Yes.”

While the couple eventually parted ways the following year, the 2009 incident remains a defining moment in the public history of both West and Swift. The two would later reconcile, only to find themselves at odds again in 2016 over lyrics in West’s track “Famous,” a dispute that eventually involved Kim Kardashian and became a major tabloid fixture.