Jay-Z: Kanye West is Just "Passionate"

The only person yet to weigh in on Kanye West's Taylor Swift ambush at the MTV VMAs has finally said his piece, thanks to a BBC Radio 1 DJ who got ahold of him.

"It's an awards show," Jay-Z said, dismissing the controversy surrounding his collaborator and good friend Kanye. "He's just a super passionate person."

That's a nice way of saying "jackass."

Jay-Z, the husband of Beyonce, who Kanye was giving props to during his rant on stage, did acknowledge that, "Of course it was rude, it was her moment."

But, "that's the way he felt. It was rude, but the way they're treating him… He's on the cover of every paper. He didn't kill anybody. No one got harmed."

No. No one got harmed. Including Kanye himself. If he can blindside a cute, very talented 19-year-old, why can't the rest of the world take him to task?

Jay-Z has Kanye West's back ... to a point.

Jay-Z, who was at the center of some party-crashing drama of his own (thank you Lil Mama) continued to walk the line when defending his friend, saying:

"It just wasn't appropriate. It wasn't fair to Taylor at all."

But qualifying that with, "at the end of the day, we're gonna celebrate him for his passion more than vilify him. As he matures, he has to balance that."

Still, Jay-Z said he doesn't back West's promise to take a break: "I don't think he should lay low. I think he should move on and have a brilliant career."