Kanye on Leno

[The Big PINK One♥]

I'm glad that he's using this as a means to make amends, because he's really done himself in badly by his actions Sunday night at the VMAs!

>> Video of Kanye on Leno

Kanye West used Jay Leno's prime-time debut Monday to offer another apology for ruining Taylor Swift's night at the MTV VMAs and says he's going to take some time off for reflection. The startling moment of the interview happened when Leno abruptly asked if his late mother would lecture him for his actions. Cue awkward silence. Watch the video after the jump!

West said he knew he was wrong the moment he handed the microphone back to Swift, when he was bathed in boos. He had interrupted Swift on Sunday night as she accepted a best female video award for 'You Belong With Me,' arguing that Beyonce's 'Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)' was more deserving.

"It was rude, period," West said. He posted a second apology to Swift on his blog on Monday, and told Leno he wanted to apologize to the country music star in person.


West took a long pause when Leno asked what his mother would have said about the incident. West was very close to his mother, Donda, who died in November 2007. He said yes when Leno asked whether his mother would have given him a lecture.

"Yeah, it's been extremely difficult." He admitted to "just dealing with the fact that I hurt someone or took anything away, you know, from a talented artist or from anyone, because I only wanted to help people."

Explaining why he was giving a shout-out to the other nominee, Beyoncé, West said, "My entire life, I've only wanted to give and do something that I felt was right. And I immediately knew in the situation that it was wrong, and it wasn't a spectacle or just – you know, it's actually someone's emotions, you know, that I stepped on."

Concurring with many of the sentiments expressed by critics since the incident, West said, "And it was very ... rude, period. And, you know, I'd like to be able to apologize to her in person."

"So many celebrities, they never take the time off," he said. "I've never taken the time off to really - you know, just music after music and tour after tour. I'm just ashamed that my hurt caused someone else's hurt. My dream of what awards shows are supposed to be, 'cause, and I don't try to justify it because I was just in the wrong. That's period. But I need to, after this, take some time off and just analyze how I'm going to make it through the rest of this life, how I'm going to improve.