The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was certainly one for the books, with many fans witnessing Kanye West’s infamous interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech as it happened live. Adding even more drama to the night, rapper Lil Mama decided to join Alicia Keys and Jay-Z on-stage as they performed their song “Empire State of Mind,” which wasn’t planned. And while the event is over a decade in the past, Keys recently revealed that she’s since forgiven the “Lip Gloss” rapper and completely understands her passion that night.
Sitting down with The Morning Hustle, Keys was asked if she’s ever forgiven Lil Mama for crashing her performance with fellow New York-native Jay-Z. “Of course. Of course. Listen, to this day, I truly never knew that she was even on the stage. That’s the craziest part of the whole thing,” the 40-year-old singer admitted.
“That was then. She’s from New York too,” Keys continued. “I think she really felt the energy of the record, and she loved it and couldn’t hold herself back. Look, this is what my music does to people. What can we say?”
Sister 2 Sister previously reported that Lil Mama, who was only 19-years-old in 2009, claimed that she reached out to Keys and Jay-Z about the VMAs incident but hadn’t heard anything back.
Clapping back at a commenter who brought up the “Empire State of Mind” performance crashing on Instagram, Lil Mama wrote in April 2021, “These situations are with adults ten years my senior. I reached out in private to create an opportunity for communication and clarity. I haven’t heard back from either party yet,”
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No word on if Keys has spoken with Lil Mama in private, but it appears that she’s ready to put the whole thing behind them. On the other hand, Jay-Z spoke publicly about his thoughts shortly following the performance, telling Angie Martinez in September 2009 that Lil Mama’s disruption was “outta line.”
What are your thoughts on Keys publicly forgiving Lil Mama over 12 years later? Let us know in the comment section.
