Hi there,

In this age of widespread misinformation and increased threats to press freedom, support for independent journalism is more important than ever. Media is essential to the functioning of a democratic society. Today is Giving Tuesday, a day dedicated to supporting non-profits. Please make it Giving NewsDay by donating to Democracy Now!. Thanks to a group of generous donors, all donations made today will be TRIPLED, which means your $15 gift is worth $45. Please donate today, so we can keep delivering urgent reporting on the world’s most pressing issues. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much!

Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Kanye West Causes Widespread Outrage with Comments About Slavery

HeadlineMay 02, 2018

In entertainment news, Kanye West has caused widespread outrage and controversy with his recent comments in a TMZ interview, in which he praised President Trump and claimed “slavery was a choice.” His interview was so incendiary and historically inaccurate that one member of the TMZ newsroom confronted Kanye West after the interview. Here is a clip of the interview, followed by the confrontation.

Kanye West: “When you hear about slavery for 400 years, for 400 years? That sounds like a choice. … Do you feel that I’m feeling—do you feel that I’m being free and I’m thinking free?”

Van Lathan: “I actually don’t think you’re thinking anything. I think what you’re doing right now is actually the absence of thought. And the reason why I feel like that is because, Kanye, you’re entitled to your opinion, you’re entitled to believe whatever you want, but there is fact and real-world, real-life consequence behind everything that you just said. And while you are making music and being an artist and living the life that you’ve earned by being a genius, the rest of us in society have to deal with these threats to our lives. We have to deal with the marginalization that has come from the 400 years of slavery that you said, for our people, was a choice. Frankly, I’m disappointed, I’m appalled, and, brother, I am unbelievably hurt by the fact that you have morphed into something, to me, that’s not real.”

That’s TMZ staffer Van Lathan confronting Kanye West.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top