Several overeager ABC News employees — including “Nightline” anchor Terry Moran — rushed to post on Twitter on Monday that President Barack Obama called Kanye West a “jackass” for interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.
The problem: Obama made the comment during off-the-record chatter as he was being miked for an interview with CNBC anchor John Harwood.
The broadcast network’s Washington bureau shares a network fiber line with CNBC, and so ABC staffers in D.C. watching CNBC’s feed heard the exchange. What they didn’t hear, apparently, was the explicit agreement CNBC made with the White House that Obama’s chitchat was off the record.
During what sounds like informal banter before the interview begins, Obama is asked whether his daughters were annoyed by West’s hijacking of Swift’s moment. According to an audio copy posted on TMZ.com:
“I thought that was really inappropriate,” Obama says. “What are you butting in (for)? … The young lady seems like a perfectly nice person. She’s getting her award. What’s he doing up there?”
A questioner chimes in, “Why would he do it?”
“He’s a jackass,” Obama replies, which is met with laughter.
The president seems to quickly realize he may have gone too far, and jovially appeals to those assembled that the remark be kept private. “Come on guys,” he says. “Cut the president some slack. I’ve got a lot of other stuff on my plate.”
The news was quickly picked up in the Twitterverse, where Moran has more than 1 million followers. ABC News quickly called CNBC and the White House to apologize.
West’s apology tour
Representatives from “The View” say West called Swift after her appearance Tuesday on the talk show. During the broadcast, the 19-year-old singer said West had yet to contact her to apologize. After Swift’s comments, West called her and the two spoke, according to a statement from “The View.”
“After the show he spoke personally to the country music superstar via telephone and has apologized to the 19-year-old singer. She has accepted Mr. West’s apology,” it read.
The drama began after Swift beat out Beyonce and other acts to win best female video at the VMAs for her hit “You Belong With Me.”
Shortly after Swift took the stage to accept, West grabbed the microphone and declared that Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” was one of the “best videos of all time.”
A shaken Swift did not finish her speech at that moment, but when Beyonce later won for video of the year, she brought Swift out so she could have her moment.
After he issued two apologies on his blog, West gave another, on Monday’s “The Jay Leno Show.”
“It was rude, period,” West said. “ … 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.”
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