posted on September 6, 2005 05:44:08 AM new
How many people decided not to donate to this worthy cause after this idiot spoke????? I'd love to see the donation numbers before and after this comment. Doesn't seem to be that widely reported...
Rapper Kanye West accuses Bush of racism; NBC apologizes
Last Updated Sat, 03 Sep 2005 14:18:45 EDT
CBC Arts
NBC's celebrity telethon for Hurricane Katrina victims took an unexpected turn Friday when Chicago rapper Kanye (pronounced KAHN-yay) West went off script during the live broadcast, declaring America is set up "to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible."
Appearing two-thirds of the way through the program, West took the government to task, saying "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
He also criticized the news media, saying "I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they're looting. See a white family, it says they're looking for food."
West said the government is intentionally dragging its feet, and that "they've given them permission to go down and shoot us."
After he stated, "George Bush doesn't care about black people," the camera cut away to comedian Chris Tucker.
Concluding the hour a few minutes later, Lauer noted that "emotions in this country right now are running very high. Sometimes that emotion is translated into inspiration, sometimes into criticism. We've heard some of that tonight. But it's still part of the American way of life."
In a statement released shortly afterwards, 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."
"It would be most unfortunate," the statement continued, "if the efforts of the artists who participated tonight and the generosity of millions of Americans who are helping those in need are overshadowed by one person's opinion."
The show, simulcast from New York on NBC, MSNBC and CNBC, was aired live to the East Coast, which meant the outburst went out uncensored. When the west coast version of the broadcast aired three hours later, West's comment about the president had been cut out.
There had been a several-second tape delay during the live broadcast, but the person in charge "was instructed to listen for a curse word, and didn't realize (West) had gone off-script," said NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks.
In July, West caused controversy during the Philadelphia staging of the Live 8 concert, when he told an MTV reporter that AIDS is a "man-made disease - that was placed in Africa just like crack was placed in the black community to break up the Black Panthers." He also criticized G8 politicians for "riding home in their Benzes and Bentleys, while poor Africans starve."
(Note: I did take out a few paragraphs of background info for space)
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/09/03/Arts/kanye_west_katrina20050903.html
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Caroline
[ edited by carolinetyler on Sep 6, 2005 05:47 AM ]
posted on September 6, 2005 05:51:26 AM new
Caroline - If that's all it takes to keep someone from donating to these people, we're in worse shape than I thought.
posted on September 6, 2005 06:02:02 AM new
Perhaps so, Cheryl - but maybe that idiot rapper should have thought of someone other than himself when spouting off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline
The fact that a popular singer inferred that George Bush is a racist should have no bearing on contributions to the poor people in New Orleans. Why do you think that West's opinion would cause people to care less about the victims of this disaster.???
posted on September 6, 2005 06:13:40 AM new
I don't think it would have caused them to care less, I would think it would cause some people to change the channel though. And for those who had not yet donated during that particular program, I hope those donations were not lost - I would hope they found another outlet for their donation to get down South.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline
posted on September 6, 2005 06:15:34 AM new
I agree, racist performers are no different than those like jessie jackson. No matter the issue, to them it's always because they're black. poor me, poor us...'we're always the victims'.
People aren't buying that old 'blame game' anymore. And while some may have agreed with him, others would have seen him the fool he is....and donated anyway.
Some people just can't move forward from the '60's.....they're still stuck and still using race as their issue. While the rest of the world has moved on.
"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
And why the American Voters chose to RE-elect President Bush to four more years. YES!!!
posted on September 6, 2005 07:21:30 AM new
what did ya expect from a "rapper" anyway-they're all ass-holes
did he make these stupid comments getting in
or out of his own limo??
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Beauty is only a light switch away
[ edited by classicrock000 on Sep 6, 2005 07:22 AM ]
posted on September 6, 2005 11:02:17 AM new
lindaKKK , the expert on the race situation......NOT!
""Some people just can't move forward from the '60's.....they're still stuck and still using race as their issue. While the rest of the world has moved on. """
What sheer gall,what stupidity coming from her mouth....how dare she comment on something she knows NOTHING about.....Oh, that's right, she does it frequently.
Maybe she could explain how she acquired this expertise on the subject.....been black a lot, lindaKKK?
posted on September 6, 2005 04:28:38 PM new
Oh please Mingotree - I've been here for 3 months, and I've never read an original thought or intelligent post from you.
All you do is whine, insult and namecall - you have no original viewpoints and it shows.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline
posted on September 6, 2005 06:12:15 PM new
Oh please caroline, I've been here longer than you and have never seen you post anything intelligent ...posts about what some stupid rappper has to say don't count.
And what is...
""Oh please Mingotree - I've been here for 3 months, and I've never read an original thought or intelligent post from you.
All you do is whine, insult and namecall - you have no original viewpoints and it shows.""
......if it's not whining and insulting and it's certainly ain't original.
Caroline 