--- title: VMAs 2015: Kanye West Almost Performed But Changed His Mind description: West was going to do a medley of songs but decided mid-show to deliver the night's most memorable speech canonical: https://time.com/4019850/kanye-west-vmas-speech-performance/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-02T11:41:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:57.250Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Kanye West Almost Performed at the VMAs But Changed His Mind og:description: The rapper decided not to do a medley in the middle of the show og:url: https://time.com/4019850/kanye-west-vmas-speech-performance/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18bdea321dd5ab60/698861ae524fc0f0d5df4507/kanye-west-politics.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Kanye West og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kanye West Almost Performed at the VMAs But Changed His Mind twitter:description: The rapper decided not to do a medley in the middle of the show twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18bdea321dd5ab60/698861ae524fc0f0d5df4507/kanye-west-politics.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Kanye West Was Going to Perform at the VMAs But Changed His Mind Mid-Show > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Kanye West on Why He Doesn't Care About His Legacy [Watch (HLS stream): Kanye West on Why He Doesn't Care About His Legacy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hQZVDnKU.m3u8) (3:58)  _Published 2015-04-16. “Every time I say something that’s extremely truthful out loud, it literally breaks the internet. So what are we getting all of the rest of the time?” asks West, the rapper and designer._  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Sep 2, 2015 11:41 AM UTC  Kanye West speaks onstage during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Aug. 30, 2015. Kanye West speaks onstage during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Aug. 30, 2015.Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Sep 2, 2015 11:41 AM UTC Kanye West’s [show-stealing speech](http://time.com/4016437/vmas-2015-kanye-west-taylor-swift-video-vanguard-award/) during Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards [almost didn’t happen](http://www.billboard.com/articles/events/vma/6685090/vmas-2015-kanye-west-speech-miley-cyrus-nicki-minaj-van-toffler-interview). The outgoing executive producer of [the VMAs,](http://time.com/4016581/vmas-2015-the-weeknd-kanye-west-dancing/) Van Toffler, told _Billboard_ that Kanye West was originally going to perform a medley of songs but changed his mind about three different times, including in the middle of the show. “We decided to be open to whatever Kanye wanted because he’s given us so many moments—unexpected ones,” Toffler said. “So we weren’t sure whether he would break into song or not.” Instead of performing, West ultimately delivered an [11-minute monologue](http://www.mtv.com/news/2255838/kanye-west-video-vanguard-acceptance-speech-full/) in which he accused MTV of exploiting his infamous Taylor Swift interruption for ratings and announced (jokingly, we think) that he’ll run for president in 2020\. Here’s what almost happened: --- > “” --- \[[_Billboard_](http://www.billboard.com/articles/events/vma/6685090/vmas-2015-kanye-west-speech-miley-cyrus-nicki-minaj-van-toffler-interview)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4019850/kanye-west-vmas-speech-performance/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4019850/kanye-west-vmas-speech-performance/"},"headline":"Kanye West Was Going to Perform at the VMAs But Changed His Mind Mid-Show","datePublished":"2015-09-02T11:41:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:57:57.250Z","description":"West was going to do a medley of songs but decided mid-show to deliver the night's most memorable speech","url":"https://time.com/4019850/kanye-west-vmas-speech-performance/","keywords":["Kanye West","Music"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18bdea321dd5ab60/698861ae524fc0f0d5df4507/kanye-west-politics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18bdea321dd5ab60/698861ae524fc0f0d5df4507/kanye-west-politics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kanye West","caption":"Kanye West","creditText":"Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/kanye-west/","name":"Kanye West"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4019850/kanye-west-vmas-speech-performance/","name":"Kanye West Was Going to Perform at the VMAs But Changed His Mind Mid-Show"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Kanye West on Why He Doesn't Care About His Legacy","description":"“Every time I say something that’s extremely truthful out loud, it literally breaks the internet. 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