Kanye West's direct mention of award shows brings us to the meat of his central point; he only used his 2009 incident with Taylor Swift to highlight it. First, he explained why he did it. He went through his intention to protect the artistry he believed in. He admitted that, in defending one artist, he might have cast a shadow on another. But his point was clear: he wasn't blaming Taylor Swift. He wasn't even necessarily blaming the networks or the voters. He was shining his light on the very institution of the award show — a tradition established almost a century ago that hasn't changed much since.
