Jay Leno Almost Makes Kanye West Cry

By PopEater Staff Posted Sep 15th 2009 07:16AM

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.

So how did Leno do with such a high profile interview? "He was handed a gift in the form of a somewhat-repentant West," Sandy Deane, editor of AOL Television and Inside TV, told PopEater. "It was surprising that Leno actually touched a nerve with the performer when asking what his deceased mother would have thought of his rude behavior. Leno usually avoids the hard-hitting questions, so it was interesting to see him push to get a real emotional response from Kanye."

According to Inside TV, most critics felt the show was simply a rehash of Leno's previous gig, 'The Tonight Show,' where he served as host for years. But it managed to pull in an astounding 17.7 million viewers. More Insight from Inside TV on Leno's Debut and Monster Ratings >>>

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Kanye West Photos

Kanye West takes the microphone from Taylor Swift as she accepts the "Best Female Video" award during the MTV VMAs on Sunday, Sept. 13 in New York. More Photos >>

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