Taylor Swift hosts "SNL" on Saturday
Photo: NBC

Taylor Swift didn't waste any time addressing her personal life — or that Kanye West VMA incident, for that matter — during her hosting stint on this week's "Saturday Night Live," tackling both in her opening monologue. With, appropriately enough, a song.

Strumming her guitar to a tune called "The Monologue Song (La La La)," Swift sang lines like, "You might think I'd bring up Joe, that guy who broke up with me on the phone/ Hey, Joe, I'm doing real well, tonight I'm hosting 'SNL' " (a reference, of course, to her former boyfriend, Joe Jonas). She also made light of the prevailing rumor that she's dating "New Moon" star Taylor Lautner with the verse, "If you're wondering if I might/ Be dating the werewolf from 'Twilight'/ I'm not gonna comment on that/ In my monologue," which she interrupted with a wink, then mouthed, "Hi, Taylor," to the camera.

As the crowd whistled their approval, Swift shifted the song into a jokey, mopey dirge, made a sad face, and sang, "You might be expecting me to say/ Something bad about Kanye/ And how he ran up on the stage/ But there's nothing more to say/ 'Cause everything's OK/ I've got security lining the stage."

Swift, who also gamely made fun of the VMA interruption in a promo for the episode, ended her monologue with another dig at West. "We've got a great show, " she laughed. "Kanye West is not here"

In later sketches, Swift showed off her acting chops, impersonating Kate Gosselin in a send-up of "The View," then donning a dark wig to spoof "Twilight" in the Digital Short "Firelight," which replaced vampires with Frankenstein monsters.

She also threw on a goatee and cornrows to play a wild-eyed convict in a "Scared Straight" skit, some pajamas in a turn as an over-affectionate roommate and, in the night's final sketch, a long blond wig for a jittery, hip-shaking impersonation of Shakira.

Pulling double duty as both host and musical performer, Swift also took the stage for a pair songs: a spirited version of "You Belong With Me" and a stripped-down "Untouchable."

• Taylor Swift
• Kanye West

Kanye West
Photo: Stefania D'Alessandro/ Getty Images

Apart from some lingering backlash from his interruption of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the Video Music Awards, a false death rumor and some quotes from Muhammad Ali posted on his blog, Kanye West's profile has been low in recent weeks. But his collaborators Mr Hudson and DJ A-Trak told British newspaper the Daily Star that West is doing fine.

In a guest blog for the newspaper, Mr Hudson said West "hasn't gone crazy or entered rehab" despite all the controversy surrounding his current public image. "I saw him a couple of weeks ago and he was keeping a low profile, which is sensible," Hudson said.

Mr Hudson, who is signed to West's record label, G.O.O.D. Music, also hinted at what fans can expect from Kanye's next LP.

"He works 24 hours day but I'm not worried for him — he has the right people around him. And Kanye's getting back into rapping. He might make an old-school record on a tape deck, like the Beastie Boys used to do. Just a drum machine, ghetto blaster and a microphone," he blogged.

West's touring DJ, A-Trak, talked about West's music plans as well. "Kanye's taking a bit of time away from the limelight. But he keeps telling me all these ideas he has for songs and fashion bits," he told the Daily Star. A-Trak also praised for West for his "amazing" versatility when it comes to creating ideas.

Late last month, Kid Cudi also told MTV News that West is doing fine. "We talk every once in a while. Like I said, he's like a brother to me, I worry just as much as the next person, but when I say Kanye is cool, believe me, Kanye is OK."

• Kanye West, Clipse, Cobra Starship Live In New York

• Kanye West
• DJ A-Trak
• Mr. Hudson

Kid Cudi
Photo: MTV News

Ever since he rocketed from the mixtape circuit to the Billboard albums chart, Kid Cudi has relied on Kanye West for guidance, support and the occasional cameo. He considers West to be his friend, his brother and his mentor, so in the wake of Kanye's interruption of Taylor Swift's speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Cudi decided it was time to take on some of the rumors swirling about his friend, too. In particular, the whispers that West has taken refuge in an Indian ashram, or that he's being pressured by those close to him to check into rehab.

"All that's definitely false. I mean ... rehab for what? Being awesome?" Cudi told MTV News backstage at the Ulalume Festival in Columbia, Maryland, last weekend. "We talk every once in a while. Like I said, he's like a brother to me, I worry just as much as the next person, but when I say Kanye is cool, believe me, Kanye is OK. He's a strong dude. I mean, we've seen him grow from College Dropout to now ... the things he's dealt with, the things he's been through. He's a strong dude."

But until Kanye makes his return, Cudi will be honored to carry Kanye's mantle. Starting on November 27, when he'll be the opening act for Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour, which takes the place of West and Gaga's canceled Fame Monster outing.

"I didn't get his blessing or anything, I just agreed because it'd be an honor. From what I heard, Kanye backed out from the tour because he wanted to work on something — maybe a project — or just wanted to take some time off," Cudi said.

"And ain't nothing wrong with that. It's not like he got fired, and I was like 'I'm taking your job!' It's like, 'Ye fell back, and I was like 'OK.' "

• Kid Cudi
• Kanye West

Kanye West
Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/ Getty Images

After a couple of rough months that found him getting massive flack for interrupting Taylor Swift at the VMAs and canceling his tour with Lady Gaga, Kanye West got some very good news on Friday. Though he was not present for the ruling, West caught a break when a Los Angeles court commissioner dismissed all three misdemeanor charges against the rapper in connection with a scuffle with paparazzi at the Los Angeles International Airport in September 2008.

Court commissioner Mark Zuckman dismissed misdemeanor charges of battery, grand theft and vandalism against West and tour manager Don Crowley. West was arrested on suspicion of vandalism and Crowley on suspicion of vandalism and battery on September 12, 2008, when they allegedly confronted TMZ photographers and smashed their equipment; West and Crowley, 33, pleaded not guilty to the charges, which could have sent West to jail for up to two years and six months and Crowley for up to five years.

City prosecutors opposed the dismissal, arguing that both West, 32, and Crowley had exhibited "felonious intent" in allegedly breaking the expensive camera gear. As part of the dismissal, West and Crowley were ordered to complete 50 hours of community service — West's attorney said he will work perform his service with the American Red Cross.

People magazine reported that the hearing also revealed that West — who has a history of indignant public outbursts at awards shows — voluntarily received court-approved anger management counseling following the airport scuffle, completing 12 one-hour sessions, which attorney Blair Berk did not disclose until Friday's court session. Berk also noted that an undisclosed civil settlement had been reached with the photographers last month, with the photogs providing a note to the court that they were satisfied with the payments.

"Kanye took the charges very seriously [and] responded appropriately by getting counseling to figure out why this happened," Berk told MTV News on Friday after the dismissal. "And the court appropriately agreed to dismiss all charges ... this was the outcome that was appropriate given the facts of this case." Berk noted that because of the dismissal, the incident will not show up on West's permanent record.

According to TMZ, Berk delivered a "blistering attack" on the paparazzi before leaving court. Saying her clients were "remorseful" for the incident, Berk reportedly said they had been "overcharged" in the case, a suggestion Deputy L.A. City Attorney Felton Newell disputed by saying they had acted with "reckless disregard" and that a video of the incident shows they had "an intent to commit a felony." The L.A. district attorney's office had considered filing felony charges against the men, but ultimately declined.

• Kanye West

Kanye West in Spike Jonze's "We Were Once a Fairytale"
Photo: Vimeo.com

It has been seven years since filmmaker Spike Jonze released a feature, but now he's suddenly flooding the market with content. In addition to the recently released "Where the Wild Things Are," Jonze also just premiered "We Were Once a Fairytale," a short film starring Kanye West and featuring the 808s & Heartbreak track "See You in My Nightmares." The film, which surfaced online on West's official blog last week (only to be taken down), casts the rapper as a troubled, chemical-addled star who goes to the bathroom at a club to exorcise his demons, only to literally pull a small beast out of his chest. It's a graphic, surreal, dreamlike production — one that fits both director and star perfectly.

"We rehearsed the night before we shot, and talked about trying to get to that raw place, that sad, pathetic, drunken, lost place," Jonze told The New York Times. "I told him the more shameless it is, the more pathetic it is, the better. He just went for it."

West and Jonze previously collaborated on the video for the MC's "Flashing Lights," and while that was a highly cinematic affair, it doesn't hold a candle to the effects- and mood-heavy "We Were Once a Fairytale," which will be available for purchase on iTunes on Tuesday and marks Jonze's first foray into digital distribution.

"I like the idea of trying to put it out on iTunes as an experiment in, can you make a short film yourself, put it out for sale? It's an experiment to see if that is feasible," he said. "I don't actually know if that makes any business sense at all, because once it's out there, it's out there."

Jonze is referring to the leak last week, when the film showed up on the video-sharing site Vimeo and was subsequently posted to West's blog. Jonze told the Times that a friend of his accidentally leaked the short while doing post-production work on it.

It was obviously a rewarding experience for Jonze, though he wasn't sure whether or not West's stage-crashing incident at the Video Music Awards would affect the reception of the film. "I like Kanye and I care about him," Jonze said. "This video is a side of him. Who knows? I don't know what the reception is going to be, but I love making stuff with him. I love the guy."

• Kanye West

Kanye West
Photo: John Shearer/MTV

Despite what you may have read online, Kanye West did not die in a car accident on Tuesday. The rapper is just the latest celebrity to be bitten by fake death rumors, which rapidly spread on Twitter.

At press time, it was unknown where the rumor started, but some were pointing to the image board 4chan.org as the origin of the phony report that West had died in a crash involving two custom cars in Los Angeles. It quickly blossomed into e-mail chains and comment threads on Facebook and Twitter.

Computer security blog Sophos.com tracked the origins of the scam, tying it to hackers who used the rumor to push the false reports to the top of Internet search engine results. By Wednesday morning (October 21), "Kanye West died" (and variations of the phrase) was one of the most-searched topics on Google Trends.

While a spokesperson for West could not be reached for comment at press time, the rapper's girlfriend, model Amber Rose, tweeted, "This 'RIP Kanye West' topic is not funny and it's NOT TRUE! He has people like myself and his family that love him very much. ... It's in extreme poor taste to have that as a trendy topic. It's totally disrespectful to make up a story like this we're all human ... and we all make mistakes and to say someone died cuz of a mistake is ridiculous. You wouldn't want someone to say that about you."

The fake news story claims that "a bizarre car crash in Los Angeles involving two luxury cars early this morning [left] rapper Kanye West dead, a second injured, a third arrested for gross vehicular manslaughter and a fourth person was detained by police. A Los Angeles Police Department officer witnessed the wreck and saw a red Ferrari and a white Porsche 'spinning out of control' on Jamboree Road between Bison Avenue and East Bluff Drive."

The story goes on to provide a seemingly detailed account of the wreckage and injuries, complete with quotes from an LAPD lieutenant on the scene. It's possible that it was timed to exploit the attention West got earlier this week when the bizarre short film called "We Were Once a Fairytale" he created with "Where the Wild Things Are" director Spike Jonze, was briefly posted on West's blog, then taken down with no explanation.

The fake death reports are just the latest to spread like viral wildfire this year, following on the heels of similar rumors about celebrities Jeff Goldblum, Matt Damon, Natalie Portman, Emma Watson, Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne and Miley Cyrus.

• This Week's Biggest News

• Kanye West

Kanye West in Spike Jonze's "We Were Once a Fairytale"
Photo: Vimeo.com

After months of slow-boil hype, the eagerly anticipated re-hookup between Kanye West and "Where the Wild Things Are" director Spike Jonze, "We Were Once a Fairytale," was released over the weekend. And it appears that life may be imitating art.

As with the last time these two collaborated (on the "Flashing Lights" video), the results are mind-bending and a bit too close to home. The 11-minute short film — which is not a video for any specific song but features bits of "See You in My Nightmares" — was shot in Los Angeles over two days in January, and it opens with West playing himself. The video was posted on West's blog on Sunday and was supposed to be released on iTunes in September, but as of press time it still did not appear to be on the store.

The short film begins with West acting pleasantly tipsy in a nightclub, yelling to adoring club kids that the song blasting over the speakers is his. Not getting the reaction he expected from his audience, the tuxedo-clad singer stumbles across the club making random inappropriate comments to women who seem unimpressed with his fame. After bumping into Fonzworth Bentley, West grinds on the dance floor, singing along to his own song at the top of his lungs in an impressionistic blur of rich blues, red and purples, his eyes seriously glazed over. He ends up meeting a beautiful woman and they start having sex, but he passes out on her leopard-skin dress. When he wakes up, he's in the VIP room with his pants around his ankles; he realizes it was a dream and that he'd actually made love to a leopard-skin pillow.

Startled and dejected by the scene, he staggers to a bathroom while holding one of his shoes and then violently vomits what looks like a stream of rose petals before collapsing to the floor. Lying on the tile, he finds a big bowie knife and uses it to cut his stomach open, which leads to another rose-petal cascade. And then things get even more bizarre, as Kanye digs deeper with the knife, reaching in to grab a small, kinda cute rodent-like demon, connected to its host by an umbilical cord. The ratlike creature stares lovingly at West, who seems sad, defeated and a bit confused at the sight.

'Ye rips the cord out and puts the demon rat on the countertop, handing it a smaller knife hidden in the handle of the larger one. With no words between them and a resigned look on his face, West watches the rat shake its head pleadingly as he urges it to slice its own belly open. With melodramatic piano music playing underneath, the mini-'Ye gets its own dramatic death scene, as a teary-eyed West watches in guilty silence.

The sight of West woozily walking through the club and indulging in his trademark blustery talk was filmed nearly a year before his bum rush of Taylor Swift at the VMAs, a night when he was photographed swigging from a bottle of cognac. Seeing it now, along with the heavily symbolic birth/ death scene at the end is a bit disorienting, but also par for the course for the envelope-pushing Jonze, who always shies away from the obvious image. In lampooning West's self-indulgent public persona, Jonze makes Kanye a more sympathetic character, on film at least, helping the rapper to rid himself of whatever demon is inside him in a cathartic, moving and powerful scene.

• Kanye West

Kanye and his mother, Donda West
Photo: Vince Bucci/ Getty Images

It's been a busy week for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In addition to signing a strong new anti-paparazzi bill, the governor signed the Donda West Law, which requires anyone undergoing plastic surgery in the state to receive a mandatory physical examination first, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The bill was written in response to the death in 2007 of Kanye West's mother, Donda, 58, who died of complications related to cosmetic surgery. Dr. West's family reportedly believe that a pre-op physical exam would have uncovered coronary artery disease. West underwent several plastic surgery procedures without medical clearance, and her coronary disease and postoperative factors are believed to have contributed to her death.

Dr. West's niece, Yolanda Anderson, was one of the primary movers behind the bill, which also requires a mandatory written clearance before surgery. Schwarzenegger vetoed the first pass of the bill in February 2008, then signed it on Monday after it was resubmitted this past February.

"Sometimes patients may think they are well enough for cosmetic surgery, but in reality are not," said Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter, one of the leading sponsors of the bill. "This bill will potentially save lives."

After his infamous run-in with Taylor Swift at the VMAs last month, Kanye West told talk-show host Jay Leno that his mother would have been disappointed in his behavior. West also said that the pain from his mother's death still haunts him and that after two years of nonstop touring, recording and appearances, he's decided to take some time to deal with his emotions.

"Obviously, I deal with hurt, and so many celebrities, they never take the time off, and I never took the time off, really," West explained on Leno's show. "I've really never taken the time off. It's been music after music and tour after tour. And I'm just ashamed my hurt caused someone else hurt."

• Kanye West

Taylor Swift on "Oprah" Wednesday
Photo: Harpo Productions

Taylor Swift writes a lot of songs about love and dudes who have done her wrong. And these days, she thinks she's better off unattached. In case you haven't noticed, she's a little too busy for a guy.

"For me, I've never been a boyfriend girl, where I've always got a boyfriend," she told Oprah Winfrey on her talk show Wednesday (October 14). "I was about 15 when I had my first boyfriend. We were together for a year. As far as relationships, that's me making an exception ... 'cause I'm better single. I feel like if I were to meet the right person, I'd make time for it."

Swift didn't have much to say about the Kanye West VMA incident, but she did tell Oprah that she had accepted West's apology and that her mom had spoken to him about it at the show. She credited her parents for helping her become the grounded 19-year-old she is today.

"I feel like being raised by two parents who basically brought me up with the idea that the world didn't owe me anything really helped," she said. "My whole life, I just loved music and I'd see these people on big stages, and I didn't think I could actually do that."

That love for music has made her a superstar, and she said being famous is better than she thought it would be. "Nothing in my life now, as far as activities and the way people perceive me, it's not normal and it's a lot different. ... It's better," she said. "I always dreamed about what it would be like if I would walk in somewhere and people already knew my songs, and it's crazy. ... It's amazing to me that it actually happened."

• Taylor Swift
• Kanye West

Kanye West and Consequence
Photo: Ray Tamarra/ Getty Images

In the aftermath of his interruption of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the VMAs last month, Kanye West told Jay Leno that he planned to take some time off.

And in the weeks since that statement, his Fame Kills Tour with Lady Gaga was canceled, he didn't appear this weekend at the 2009 BET Hip-Hop Awards, and he's been relatively quiet as his latest protégé, Kid Cudi, promotes his recently released debut album.

Kanye has been posting his usual photos of things he's interested in on his blog, but apart from a post about Derrion Albert's murder in Chicago and one about Nabil Elderkin's forthcoming photo book of Kanye's Glow in the Dark Tour, he hasn't spoken much there, either.

But the Chicago superstar hasn't vanished from the spotlight completely, and a couple of his friends talked about where Kanye's at these days.

"He's in a good place [right now]," Consequence, a frequent collaborator whose upcoming Cons TV album is being overseen by West, told MTV News last week on the red carpet of the Hennessy Artistry 2009 Series in New York. "We talk every two or three days. I got up with him right after [the VMAs] happened. At the end of the day, MTV has been a great outlet for [Kanye's label] G.O.O.D. Music as a company. Regardless of whatever [else] goes on, there's a great respect there, a great admiration for what the outlet is. We grew up off of that."

Those sentiments were echoed by Elderkin, who has also directed videos for West (including the Rihanna-starring "Paranoid"), and added that his friend is not only extremely passionate, but loyal to the point he defends his friends.

"He's good, he's got some good people around him and he's just doing his thing," Elderkin told MTV News last week. "He'll be the strong guy. I think right now is a good time, he's just kinda chilling. Relaxing, and trying to absorb life.

"I know people have a different perception of it, but he's very generous and he looks after his friends," he continued. "He makes sure everyone gets a chance, you know what I'm saying? I'm not saying his security hasn't told people to back off or anything, but I've never seen him be rude to people unless people are pestering with a camera and will not leave him alone — more on the annoying side of things. The crazy thing is, if this stuff happened to me, or just about anyone else, I would probably flip out. But the fact that he's Kanye, people take it like he's doing something out of the norm. But everyone has their moments. In general, he's an inspiring person, always pushing creativity."

West and Elderkin are currently preparing for the release of "Glow in the Dark," which comes out on October 20. Elderkin said the book-release event and creating new music in the studio will likely put the rapper in good space.

"We are gonna have the book opening event in the next couple of weeks," Elderkin said. "We are trying to set that up. I think he's gonna move forward and start creating some great music again."

• Kanye West's History Of Outbursts

• Kanye West
• Consequence

Kanye West's History Of Outbursts

• Kanye West

Who Are The Landmarks Of The VMAs?

• Britney Spears
• Lady Gaga
• Jay-Z
• Lil Wayne
• Beyoncé

2009 VMA Nominees

• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Green Day
• Kings Of Leon
• Paramore
• Fall Out Boy

Kanye West, Clipse, Cobra Starship Live In New York

• Kanye West
• Clipse
• Cobra Starship
• Lykke Li
• The Roots

Rihanna, Kanye, More Celebrate At Black Eyed Peas' Record-Release Party

• Black Eyed Peas
• Fergie
• Will.I.Am
• Kanye West
• Jim Jones

Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, More At The At Metropolitan Museum Gala

• Rihanna
• Ciara
• Justin Timberlake
• Madonna
• Kanye West

Kanye's New Sneakers: Nike Air Yeezys

• Kanye West

Kanye West's Complex Magazine Shoot

• Kanye West

"American Idol" Season 8: Live Performances

• Kanye West
• Kelly Clarkson
• Lady Gaga

2009 Grammy Awards Show

• Whitney Houston
• Justin Timberlake
• Jennifer Hudson
• U2
• Coldplay