Pop stars slammed Kanye West after the rapper shocked the MTV Video Music Awards by crashing the stage during teen star Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech. Singer Pink tweeted, “My heart goes out to Taylor Swift.

She is a sweet and talented girl and deserved her moment. She should know we all love her.” A post from singer Katy Perry said West’s outburst was comparable to “stepping on a kitten.” Singer Kelly Clarkson posted on her official blog: “What happened to you as a child? Did you not get hugged enough? I just pity you because you’re a sad human being.”

West issued an apology for his tirade on a blog. Separately, the remorseful rapper said he would take time off to reflect on his behaviour. “I need to, after this, take some time off and just analyse how I’m going to make it through the rest of this life, how I’m going to improve,” he told Jay Leno on his show.

West has already apologised twice for hijacking Swift’s moment in the spotlight at the high-profile awards show, but he told Leno he has not yet been able to apologise to Swift in person. West told Leno that the aftermath had been “extremely difficult” for him to deal with.

“My entire life, I’ve only wanted to give and do something that I felt was right. And I immediately knew in the situation that it was wrong, and it wasn’t a spectacle or just - you know, it’s actually someone’s emotions, you know, that I stepped on. And it was very - it was just - it was rude, period.