In the moment, Lil Mama thought she and Jay-Z were connecting after she crashed his performance of "Empire State of Mind" during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. However, when she saw the footage of her uninvited appearance online afterward, she realized the superstar wasn't too pleased by her stunt. When the "Lip Gloss" rapper surprised Jay-Z by walking onstage, he remarked, "Oh, you T-Paining right now, huh," referring to the Auto-Tune singer's unplanned appearance onstage next to Hov at Hot 97's Summer Jam concert during "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)."
"I didn't know what Jay said," Lil Mama told MTV News. "I thought he was like, 'OK, enjoying the moment with me, interacting,' which was after I walked up. But after watching it from home, watching myself on the Internet, I'm bouncing and I'm coming up toward Jay-Z and he's backing up. And my emotions at the time was like a vibe, like, 'Yeah, New York.' I was definitely caught up in the moment. ... Now that I'm home, I was like, 'Wow, Jay-Z wasn't feeling it.' "
Lil Mama has been apologizing profusely ever since. She issued a statement on Monday, apologizing to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys and saying she never intended to offend either artist. She said she hopes to speak with both parties privately to resolve the matter if there was any misunderstanding.
The "America's Best Dance Crew" judge said her hometown pride just overcame her during the performance, and she thought she was honoring Jay-Z by jumping onstage next to him, not ruining his performance.
"I would never get up there and try to disrespect Jay-Z or take a moment that someone else created and try to live it," she explained. "I'm too original for that and I respect him too much for that.
"To Jay in particular, as a Brooklyn native — [which] I am also — in that moment it was nothing but respect and honor," she continued. "It was a joyous moment. Whenever we share happiness or a celebration takes place, usually it's graceful, it's never to disrespect. I never meant any harm. I was enjoying myself and I was enjoying his performance. I got love for him."
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