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Kanye West Rips President Bush On Live Television
Kanye West criticized United States President George W. Bush and the government’s reaction to Hurricane Katrina on Friday (Sept. 2), during “A Concert for Hurricane Relief” a live benefit concert that aired on NBC.
West had sharp words for President Bush and the government’s reaction to the disaster wrought in four states by Hurricane Katrina during the one-hour live special. "George Bush doesn't care about black people," said Kanye West as he ended his speech
The show was aired live on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and Pax and featured performances from Harry Connick Jr., Wynton Marsalis, Faith Hill, Aaron Neville and others.
West, who didn’t perform, was on the stage with comedian Mike Myers reading a script from the teleprompter when he deviated from the pre-written script.
“I hate the way they portray us in the media,” West said echoing comments that big media outlets are biased in how they present images of the hurricane victims. referring to Yahoo! and other media outlets showing photos of Blacks people captioned as "looters" while Whites in photos were captioned as "finders" of food and supplies. Yahoo later removed the images and offered a public apology.
“You see a black family, it says, ‘They're looting.’ You see a white family, it says, ‘They're looking for food.’
“It's been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people are black,” West said. “And even for me to complain about it, I would be a hypocrite because I've tried to turn away from the TV because it's too hard to watch.
“I've even been shopping before even giving a donation, so now I'm calling my business manager right now to see what is the biggest amount I can give…the way America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off, as slow as possible. I mean, the Red Cross is doing everything they can. We already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way -- and they've given them permission to go down and shoot us!”
Mike Myers, now visibly stunned, turned to Kanye and shock but continued on with his pre-written speech until Kanye interrupted him saying, "George W. Bush doesn't care about black people." MSNBC immediately cut to Chris Tucker who sat looking bewildered. [Watch the video (1 | 2)]
There was a tape delay, but the person in charge of censoring was only looking for profane words and didn’t know that West was not following his script. The show was simulcast from New York on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and Pax. NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks claimed the person in charge "was instructed to listen for a curse word, and didn't realize [West] had gone off-script." In a statement, NBC said, "Kanye West departed from the scripted comments that were prepared for him, and his opinions in no way represent the views of the networks."
Many have applauded Kanye's statements, calling him a "hero" for speaking out on what many feel. However, media outlets such as Juicce News Daily, claim Kanye ruined the show. "In a disgusting display, West strayed from his prepared script to offer an overflow of hatred from his mouth, taking the spotlight off of the matter at hand, turning the relief program into his own personal soapbox."
Blogging the Hurricane Relief Concert, an MSNBC sponsored blog, walked the fine line, stating, "Kanye brings up an important point, talking about how the media portrays white as seeking food and blacks as looters," but ends the post with "Not sure what kind of flack Kanye's gonna catch for that last bit, but I'm sure he doesn't care."
West’s comments were edited out of the West Coast airing of the show, which was broadcast three hours later.
Before the show was over, the host, NBC News’ Matt Lauer, stated that emotions in the country are high because of the destruction the hurricane has left, the handling of the disaster and the strain of the war in Iraq.
“Sometimes that emotion is translated into inspiration, sometimes into criticism,” Lauer said referring to West’s’ comments. “We've heard some of that tonight. But it's still part of the American way of life."
Source: allhiphop.com & sohh.com
West had sharp words for President Bush and the government’s reaction to the disaster wrought in four states by Hurricane Katrina during the one-hour live special. "George Bush doesn't care about black people," said Kanye West as he ended his speech
The show was aired live on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and Pax and featured performances from Harry Connick Jr., Wynton Marsalis, Faith Hill, Aaron Neville and others.
West, who didn’t perform, was on the stage with comedian Mike Myers reading a script from the teleprompter when he deviated from the pre-written script.
“I hate the way they portray us in the media,” West said echoing comments that big media outlets are biased in how they present images of the hurricane victims. referring to Yahoo! and other media outlets showing photos of Blacks people captioned as "looters" while Whites in photos were captioned as "finders" of food and supplies. Yahoo later removed the images and offered a public apology.
“You see a black family, it says, ‘They're looting.’ You see a white family, it says, ‘They're looking for food.’
“It's been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people are black,” West said. “And even for me to complain about it, I would be a hypocrite because I've tried to turn away from the TV because it's too hard to watch.
“I've even been shopping before even giving a donation, so now I'm calling my business manager right now to see what is the biggest amount I can give…the way America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off, as slow as possible. I mean, the Red Cross is doing everything they can. We already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way -- and they've given them permission to go down and shoot us!”
Mike Myers, now visibly stunned, turned to Kanye and shock but continued on with his pre-written speech until Kanye interrupted him saying, "George W. Bush doesn't care about black people." MSNBC immediately cut to Chris Tucker who sat looking bewildered. [Watch the video (1 | 2)]
There was a tape delay, but the person in charge of censoring was only looking for profane words and didn’t know that West was not following his script. The show was simulcast from New York on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and Pax. NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks claimed the person in charge "was instructed to listen for a curse word, and didn't realize [West] had gone off-script." In a statement, NBC said, "Kanye West departed from the scripted comments that were prepared for him, and his opinions in no way represent the views of the networks."
Many have applauded Kanye's statements, calling him a "hero" for speaking out on what many feel. However, media outlets such as Juicce News Daily, claim Kanye ruined the show. "In a disgusting display, West strayed from his prepared script to offer an overflow of hatred from his mouth, taking the spotlight off of the matter at hand, turning the relief program into his own personal soapbox."
Blogging the Hurricane Relief Concert, an MSNBC sponsored blog, walked the fine line, stating, "Kanye brings up an important point, talking about how the media portrays white as seeking food and blacks as looters," but ends the post with "Not sure what kind of flack Kanye's gonna catch for that last bit, but I'm sure he doesn't care."
West’s comments were edited out of the West Coast airing of the show, which was broadcast three hours later.
Before the show was over, the host, NBC News’ Matt Lauer, stated that emotions in the country are high because of the destruction the hurricane has left, the handling of the disaster and the strain of the war in Iraq.
“Sometimes that emotion is translated into inspiration, sometimes into criticism,” Lauer said referring to West’s’ comments. “We've heard some of that tonight. But it's still part of the American way of life."
Source: allhiphop.com & sohh.com
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