Only Kanye West could try to blame the media for getting upset when he asked a wheelchair-bound fan to stand up and dance at one of his concerts. The Grammy winner actually paused his show because his ego wouldn’t allow him to perform if his fans weren’t made to act like they were having a good time. That moment was recorded and quickly went viral.
Immediately following the Kanye West wheelchair controversy, Twitter users attacked the rapper for his short-sightedness and lack of tack. Now Kanye and wife Kim Kardashian are attempting to blame the media for Kanye’s hubris.
In an Instagram post Kim attached a video from the concert and writes:
“What a fantastic tour in Australia! It’s disappointing that something so great could be overshadowed by false stories in the media. Kanye never told anyone in a wheelchair to stand up; the audience videos prove that. He asked everyone to stand up and dance UNLESS they were in a wheelchair. #JustWantedEveryoneToHaveAFunNight #TheMediaTwistsThings”
It should be noted that during the Brisbane concert other videos have shown more of the incident. Specifically Kanye West sending his bodyguard to the wheelchair sitting fan to verify that he is in a wheelchair.
West in the meantime has blamed Matt Lauer, Michael Strahan, Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Roberts. West believes reporters should ask for his perspective before reporting on his obvious public displays of stupidity and hubris that are caught on tape.
In a five minute speech at one of his concerts he amusingly proclaims:
“They’ve got this thing where they want the masses, the people who’ve never even heard one of my albums, to somehow read a headline that reads negative and to think that I’m a bad person. But the thing is … I’m a married Christian man with a family. At my concerts, I make sure everybody has as good a time as possible. So all this demonizing me, it ain’t going to work after a while. Pick a new target, because I’m not one of these dumba** artists that you’re used to.”
I will openly admit that Kanye West is correct in stating that he didn’t force the wheelchair bound individual to stand up, but most media reports didn’t say he tried to make the person stand. Instead, the real issue is that a Kanye West fan was singled out because they couldn’t stand up. And let’s be honest for a moment, it’s none of Kanye’s business if someone chooses not to stand up at a concert they PAID to attend. If his music can’t lead fans to have a good time to the point of dancing to his music, he is obviously doing something wrong during his performances.
Kanye also had no way to know if someone was remaining seated for other reasons. Apparently he believes that only people in wheelchairs or with prosthetic legs have issues with remaining on their feet.
The Kanye West wheelchair incident was beginning to lose interest, but thanks to his strange response, it will likely remain as a talking point for a while longer, which is probably what the spotlight hungry singer wanted in the first place.
[Photo Credit: Shahril Affandi Radzali]