Beyoncé and Jay Z looked on horrified, but burst into (relieved) laughter when they realised he was just playing around. It was all fun and jokes, but backstage Kanye still holds this belief that NO ONE deserves to win an award over Beyoncé. I don't even think it matters if her album wasn't that good or another artist had a better quality of work.
That's how I feel about her last project. I feel anyone's album could easily have been better. Compared to the quality of '4', this was not an outstanding project. The only reason why it received so much critical acclaim is because of HOW she released it making it a game changer. The amount of thought, risk and secrecy that went into the album's shock release was not just brave, but also very clever. It kind of overruled the album not being so great. If you're not a biased stan, you may be able to look past the shock tactics involved, give the album a good listen, and come to the realisation that she's had albums in her back catalogue that were far more superior.
Speaking at the E! After Party, Kanye said:
"I don't know what he said, all I know is if the Grammys want real artists to keep coming back, they need to stop playing with us. We ain't gonna play with them no more. Beck needs to respect artistry and he should have given his award to Beyoncé, and at this point, we tired of it. Because what happens is, when you keep on diminishing art and not respecting the craft and smacking people in the face after they deliver monumental feats of music, you're disrespectful to inspiration and we as musicians have to inspire people who go to work every day, and they listen to that Beyoncé album and they feel like it takes them to another place."