By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Kanye West was classless and Beyonce was ultra-classy at Sunday's MTV Music Video awards show.

West further cemented his reputation an egotistical hothead when he grabbed the microphone from a stunned Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech for "Best Female Video."

It's infuriating to watch West in action, taking away Swift's moment in the sun and pointing to a stunned Beyonce, then claiming she should have won in that category.

Later, Beyonce showed why her career in show business will be a lot longer and a lot more popular than West's.

When Beyonce took the stage later in the night for winning "Video of the Year," she invited Swift to finish her acceptance speech. It was a classy move, one that will be long remembered by music fans everywhere.

West later apologized for his outburst. But it's the lame kind of "sorry" that won't resonate.

West certainly will reap plenty of publicity from his stunt, but he also has damaged his reputation for a long time to come.