“George Bush doesn’t care about black people”
These seven words will probably always live in infamy. During a live 2005 Hurricane Katrina relief telethon, Kanye broke from the script and unleashed a rambling broadside against the then-president. While his honesty made him a hero to some, others felt he distracted from a moment that should have been about the victims of the storm.
“If I don’t win, the awards show loses credibility” – Kanye West at MTV Europe Music Video Awards
In a preview of what was soon to come (again and again), a furious Kanye rushed the stage and interrupted artists Justice and Simian who beat him in the Best Video category. He declared that he should have won and got hit with an immediate backlash from critics, if not the fans.
(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Kanye posed as Jesus Christ on Rolling Stone cover
To say Kanye West has a Jesus complex is probably something of an overstatement. So to many, this cover was an obvious albeit provocative choice. Still, several critics felt that with this image, Kanye had really crossed a line.
“Maybe my skin’s not right.” – Kanye on MTV VMAs in 2007
Kanye took serious offense to what he considered a snub in favor of Britney Spears at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. Citing race as a possible factor (he lost all 5 awards he was nominated for) he reportedly vowed to never perform on VMAs again…he returned two years later.
(AP Photo/Jeff Christensen)
Arrested at the airport
On September 11, 2008 Kanye made headlines again after he and his bodyguard were both arrested following a physical altercation with paparazzi at LAX. It was just the first of a handful of similar incidents.
(Sipa via AP Images)
Kanye declares himself “new King of Pop”
Barely a month after the beloved pop star Michael Jackson passed away in the summer of 2009, Kanye had the audacity to suggest he’d taken over his mantle. “You know everyone loves and respects Michael but times change,” West was quoted as saying. The backlash was swift and West moonwalked back his statement.
(AP Photo/Jennifer Graylock)
“I’m a let you finish…”
Arguably the most discussed Kanye West moment of all time — West’s 2009 decision to rudely upstage country singer Taylor Swift during a VMA acceptance speech has become the stuff of legend. For the three people on the planet who are unfamiliar, West gave tepid props to Swift before launching into a tirade about Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” music video being far superior. Numerous apologies followed but for many it was their last straw with Kanye.
(AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
The Twitter Rant
After keeping relatively out of the spotlight for almost a year after the Taylor Swift debacle — Kanye re-emerged big time via Twitter. At first his random asides were a hit but a September 2010, 80-plus tweet long meltdown (in which he apologized, yet again, to Taylor Swift) only had fans wondering if he was emotionally unstable.
(AP Photo/John Bazemore)
“Banned in the USA”, Kanye claims record label censored album cover
“They don’t want me chilling on the couch with my phoenix!”, tweeted Kanye this week in reference to his already controversial prospective album cover image. The antimated picture which features (presumably) Kanye in an intimate embrace with a nude white woman. The record label says they’re just concerned about sales. But Kanye is crying foul. The jury is still out…
Nude photos leaked
Apparently before Kanye became famous he took it upon himself to send unsolicited nude photos of himself to various women on MySpace. This year the photos starting being leaked and showing up on the web. Just this month, Kanye confirmed that the photos are real.
(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)
Classic Kanye quotes…
More than anything else, Kanye seems to generate controversy with his own big mouth. He loves singing his own praises and here are just a few classic examples:
“I realize that my place and position in history is that I will go down as the voice of this generation, of this decade, I will be the loudest voice”
“Come on now! How could you be me and want to be someone else?”
“In America, they want you to accomplish these great feats, to pull off these David Copperfield-type stunts. You want me to be great, but you don’t ever want me to say I’m great?”
(AP Photo/Charles Sykes)
The Bush mea culpa mess
First, Kanye tried to apologize for saying “George Bush doesn’t care about black people”, then he tried to compare it the Taylor Swift incident and somehow he ended up whining about clips of said incident running underneath him (completely standard practice) while he tried to answer questions. A surefire entry into the awkward interview Hall of Fame.
(Image courtesy of NBC)
Well, Kanye West is at it again. Wherever this superstar rap icon goes — controversy seems to follow. The latest development keeping Twitterers abuzz is the back and forth about George W. Bush’s comments on Kanye’s post-Katrina statement that ‘George Bush doesn’t care about black people’. Last month, the controversy-du-jour was Kanye’s claim that his planned album cover for his upcoming album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy had been “banned” by his record label for being too explicit.
WATCH KANYE’S INFAMOUS KATRINA COMMENTS HERE:
Why is that Kanye can’t seem to stay out of trouble? Is this just all part of his master plan? From the VMAs stage to his legendary diarrhea of the mouth, theGrio recounts our favorite Kanye faux pas of the past and present.
