“Grow up and stop throwing your toys around. You are making yourself look like a complete ass.” said Shirley Manson. The Garbage frontwoman was upset with comments made by Kanye West in an interview with E! after the Grammy Awards this past Sunday. Kanye West is known for speaking his mind and expressing his opinion despite the consequences. From criticizing former president George W. Bush to the bosses of Nike and the entire fashion industry, West is not one to hold his tongue.
He received major backlash in 2009 when he went on the stage to let the world and Taylor Swift know that “Beyoncé had the best video of all time,” during Swift’s acceptance speech. West repeated this incident this past Sunday at the Grammys when Beck won the award for Album of the Year for Morning Phase, beating Beyoncé’s self-titled work. Kanye West walked up the stage, but learning from the past returned to his seat, which to most of the audience and viewers watching was taken as satirical. It was not until he was interviewed by Terrence J, sister-in-law Khloe Kardashian, Christina Milian and Zanna Rassi that everyone was aware that Kanye was not joking.
Kanye stated, “Beck should respect real artistry and should have given Beyoncé his award.” This upset many people, including rock singer Shirley Manson who was so frustrated with West that she decided to write an open letter directed at West via Facebook. Manson states, “In attempting to reduce the importance of one great talent over another, you make a mockery of all musicians and music from every genre, including your own.” Manson then added, “It is YOU who is so busy disrespecting artistry. You disrespect your own remarkable talents and more importantly you disrespect the talent, hard work and tenacity of all artists when you go so rudely and savagely after such an accomplished and humble artist like BECK.” She finishes off with, “I am pretty certain [she] doesn’t need you fighting any battles on her account. Seems like she’s got everything covered perfectly well on her own.” West has said afterwards that he respects Beck, and that he was making an attempt at critiquing the award show, not his artistry.