Beyonce Says Kanye Was ‘Standing Up for Art’ at VMAs

Every public figure from President Obama to Bill O'Reilly took a minute out of their hectic schedules to weigh in on Kanye West's MTV Video Music Award stunt last month. The apparent Hennessy-fueled outburst was triggered by MTV's decision to honor Taylor Swift with the Best Female Video award over Beyonce's 'Single Ladies,' which Mr. West wouldn't stand for.

Beyonce has chosen to remain mum about the incident, until this past Friday, at Billboard magazine's Women in Music show, when the R&B diva finally opened up about the events of that much blogged about night.

Beyonce admitted that before Kanye made the decision to run onto the stage, he had expressed his discontent with MTV's decision."Well, I knew his intentions, and I knew he was standing up for art; and he told me before, when they said the nominees, he's like, 'You have this award,'" she said. "And when they didn't call my name he was, like, completely shocked. And when he walked on the stage, I was like, 'No, no, no!' and then he spoke, and I was like, 'Oh, no, no, no!'"

Despite her shock in that moment -- which MTV so dutifully captured on film --Beyonce was able to find a silver lining in the situation. "But in the end, it ended up being a great night, and Taylor Swift did get her moment -- and I didn't have to make an acceptance speech," she said.

Beyonce's hubby Jay-Z stepped in to defend his little brother after the infamous incident, saying that although Kanye's stunt was uncalled for, it was being blown out of proportion. "At the end of the day, we're gonna celebrate him for his passion... As he grows and matures, he's got to know how to balance that," Jay said. "He'll learn that in the years to come...That passion wasn't fake, it wasn't staged... I don't think he should lay low, I think he should go on tour and have a brilliant career..."