Artists of all genres are joining Team Taylor as Kanye West's outburst at Sunday's Video Music Awards continues to draw condemnation. In the meantime, West has replaced his first rambling apology, which was taken down from his website shortly after posting it, with a more succinct message to Taylor Swift:  "I feel like Ben Stiller in "Meet the Parents" when he messed up everything and Robert De Niro asked him to leave...      That was Taylor's moment and I had no right in any way to take it from her.  I am truly sorry."

To recap: As country darling  Swift was accepting her award for best female video on MTV's annual awards show when West burst forth from the audience, grabbed her mic and declared that fellow nominee Beyonce had "one of the best videos of all time," leaving Swift dazed and confused.  

Here are a few choice comments from artists. Not a lot of love for West right now:

Katy Perry (via Twitter): F*** U KANYE. IT'S LIKE U STEPPED 0N A KITTEN

Pink: (via Twitter and "The Today Show") Pink tweeted that West was "a douche bag" last night. This morning, she  performed "Please Don't Leave Me" on "The Today Show," but not before blasting West a little bit more: " I just think he's an idiot. He's just a waste. He's just a toolbox," she told Matt Lauer. "He's getting exactly what he wants. Peple are talking about him."

John Mayer (via Twitter) Big love to my girl @taylorswift13. A class act.

Kelly Clarkson (via her website) wrote an open letter to West, which we've edited down:  

Dear Kanye,

What happened to you as a child?? Did you not get hugged enough?? Something must have happened to make you this way and I think we're all just curious as to what would make a grown man go on national television and make a talented artist, let alone teenager, feel like shit. I mean, I've seen you do some pretty shitty things, but you just keep amazing me with your tactless, asshole ways. It's absolutely fascinating how much I don't like you. I like everyone. I even like my asshole ex that cheated on me over you... I was actually nominated in the same category that Taylor won and I was excited for her...so why can't you be?? I'm not even mad at you for being an asshole...I just pity you because you're a sad human being.

On a side note, Beyonce has always been a class act and proved again tonight that she still is. Go TEXAS!!

Taylor Swift, you outsell him ....that's why he's bitter. You know I love your work! Keep it up girl!

KC

 Reba McEntire (via Twitter) : So proud of Taylor winning last night at the VMA's!!!! Way to go girl!!!!! Lesson to all of us to keep a firm grip on the microphone ...

Lady Antebellum (via Twitter): I wish people knew when to keep their mouth shut! Love you T!! ~hills

Quite a few folks on Twitter and Facebook have posed the question as to whether the whole imbroglio was staged. Even John Legend had his doubts. Earlier today, he tweeted, "Anybody think this might have all been one big mindfuck and MTV and everybody planned it out like the Bruno/Eminem thing? Prob not, I guess."

Now, as for Beyonce calling up Swift to give her acceptance speech uninterrupted, there does seem to be general thought (and I agree) that Swift wasn't caught unaware there. She was waiting in the wings after all. On that, Legend tweeted, " I think that Ye was serious & the damage cntrl was staged. Taylor came fro[m] backstage on cue w/ mic in hand when Bey called her."

Our colleague Chris Willman had his own hit and run with West when he was writing for Entertainment Weekly and has written a great piece for Yahoo on the history of West's antics that is compulsory reading for anyone who thinks this was anything other than a spontaneous act on West's part.

 As he always manages to somehow do, West may have the last word. In a stroke of tremendous luck for Jay Leno, West is the musical guest (along with Jay-Z and Rihanna) on his first prime time show tonight at 10 p.m. on NBC. However, rumor has it that Swift, who has not tweeted about the incident, will be on "The View" on Tuesday.