Will Kanye West bring drama to the 2016 Grammys?
At past award shows, the rapper famously interrupted two artists, Beck and Taylor Swift, the latter of whom he also appears to diss in a track on his new album The Life of Pablo. The song has reignited drama between the two, who are both nominated for Grammys at Monday's ceremony. Swift is also the opening performer, while it is not confirmed if Kanye will attend the show.
"Anything is possible," host LL Cool J told E! News' Sibley Scoles exclusively, when asked if a "Kanye moment" could take place during the ceremony.
"He might come running at me, I might get nervous and run offstage," he joked.
Swift and Kanye made headlines in 2009 when he interrupted her acceptance speech at the MTV VMAs. He later apologized for being "disrespectful" and the two appeared to reconcile and looked pretty chummy at last year's Grammys. But in his new track "Famous," which he debuted during his Yeezy Season 3 fashion show Thursday, Kanye raps about Swift, saying, "I made that bitch famous." She and her friends were not amused.
Kanye later said he did not "diss" Swift and that he had spoken to her on the phone for an hour about the lyric, in which he also states, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex." He said the singer "thought it was funny and gave her blessings." Swift has not commented.
At last year's Grammys, Kanye rushed the stage before Beck accepted the award for Album of the Year.
The rapper later signaled in a backstage interview with E! News that this was no joke, saying, "Beck needs to respect artistry and he should have given his award to Beyoncé." He had made a similar argument when he interrupted Swift's speech.
Kanye later told The Sunday Times, "I'm fine to apologize for inaccuracies. You know, I send flowers to inaccuracies. "I talked to Beck's wife and I think I had a point about Beyoncé's album, but I think I was inaccurate with the concept of a gentleman who plays 14 instruments not respecting artistry."
In his interview with E! News, LL Cool J defended Kanye's behavior.
"Even in that moment, he was just being passionate about what he believed in," he said. "He wasn't trying to hurt nobody. He interrupted Taylor, he interrupted Beck. I understand it. You know, he's a passionate guy, passionate about his art. I don't think anything foul will happen [at the 2016 Grammys]. Most of the musicians who come here, they come to celebrate. They don't come for drama."
Check out our coverage of everything Grammys, including a full list of nominations.
The 58th Annual Grammy Awards airs on Monday on CBS.