S. Samuel
Footage from Kanye West's emotional "Today Show" appearance has leaked online and shows the program's host, Matt Lauer, forcefully trying to make the rapper watch a clip of George W. Bush.
In the clip, West expresses his frustrations and explains his motivation for doing a one-on-one televised interview was not for glamour or glitz.
“I didn’t need you guys to show me the tape and prompt my emotions to what I’m going to say,” said West referring to Bush describing the rapper’s racist remarks about him during the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster. “Pre-looking at his face, I came up here because I wanted to say something to him right after the fact. I don’t really have to do the TV stuff. This is reality, this is the real thing going on. I don’t need all the jazz…I’m here to man up to different mistakes that I made and speak to the moment when I pegged George Bush as a racist…I came here to say I’ve made mistakes and grown as a person and that it’s not as easy as boxing someone into a villain role or into a race role. I did not have the information, enough information in that situation to call him a racist. That might’ve been the emotion that I felt.” (Rap-Up)
Writing on Twitter, West publicly vented his frustrations toward Lauer yesterday.
“I went up there to express how I was empathetic to Bush because I labeled him a racist and years later I got labeled as a racist…. While I was trying to give the interview they started playing the “MTV” under me with audio!!!!!!! I don’t mess with Matt Lauer or the Today Show … and that’s a very nice way for me to put it! HE TRIED TO FORCE MY ANSWERS. IT WAS VERY BRUTAL AND I CAME THERE WITH ONLY POSITIVE INTENT. I feel very alone very used very tortured very forced very misunderstood very hollow very very misused. I don’t trust anyone but myself! Everyone has an agenda. I don’t do press anymore. I can’t be everything to everybody anymore. I can’t be everybody’s hero and villain savior and sinner Christian and anti Christ!” (Rap Radar)
Yeezy accused Lauer of forcing an on-air emotional response out of him.
“I can’t take anymore advice!!! I create, I’m creative, I have a good heart, everyone will see and understand one day. Everything sounds like noise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVERYTHING SOUNDS LIKE NOISE!!!!!!! I don’t trust anyone! Very judged very scrutinized very criticized! I want everyone to know I have lows all the time but I make it through them! Yo I really wonder if Matt Lauer thought that sh*t was cool to play the “MTV” clip while I was speaking about Bush? He played clips of Bush and asked me to look at his face while I was trying to talk to him. I wish Michael Jackson had twitter!!!!!! Maybe Mike could have explained how the media tried to set him up!!! It’s all a f*cking set up!!!! . This is rock and roll life my people… you can’t stop the truth you can’t stop the music and I have to be strong or “they” win!!!! . Sometimes it’s not simple, some days it’s not easy… I just want to create. I love you guys, thanks for the support!” (Rap Radar)
After Ye apologized for the controversial remarks made in 2005 during the Hurricane Katrina telethon broadcast, George W. Bush has now responded.
“I appreciate that,” Bush said of the apology. “It wasn’t just Kanye West who was talking like that during Katrina, I cited him as an example, I cited others as an example as well. You know, I appreciate that.” (E! Online)
Check out the interview footage below:
