West calls Taylor Swift after 'View' appearance

[September 16, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- It looks like Kanye West has finally given a personal apology to Taylor Swift. Representatives from "The View" say West called the country sensation after her appearance on Tuesday's show. During the broadcast, the 19-year-old singer said West had yet to contact her to apologize for hijacking her acceptance speech on the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.

"He has not personally reached out or anything but if he wanted to say hi (I would)," said Swift.

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. The contents of the phone call are to remain private," it read.

Afterward, Swift told ABC News Radio: "He was very sincere in his apology and I accepted that apology."

It's the latest in the saga that has caused a national uproar. 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."

Swift, the first country act to win at the VMAs, was exuberant after her win, but that moment didn't last long, as West -- known for his awards-show meltdowns -- 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 that she could have her moment.

When asked about the incident during her appearance on "The View," Swift said: "I'm not gonna say that I wasn't rattled by it. I had to perform live five minutes later so I had to get myself back to the place where I could perform."

However, she said she was gratified by the outpouring of support not only from fans, but also from celebrities and others who offered support immediately after the incident occurred.

"There were a lot of people around me backstage that were saying wonderful, incredible things and just having my back," she said. "I just never imagined that there were that many people looking out for me."

West has taken a drubbing since then. While he issued two apologies on his blog after the incident, he gave another, emotional one on Monday's premiere of "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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On the Net:

http://theview.abc.go.com/

[Associated Press; By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY]

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