“George Bush doesn’t care about black people”
Those are the infamous words that fell from Kanye West’s mouth during a live televised fundraiser that took place for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. As Kanye West and Mike Myers took their place in front of the cameras to speak on the disastrous events that took place just under a week ago, an uneasy and visibly emotional Kanye went off script and tossed some harsh criticism towards President Bush.
“I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, ‘They’re looting.’ You see a white family, it says, ‘They’re looking for food.’ And, you know, it’s been five days waiting for federal help because most of the people are black,” said West.
As Mike Myers continued reading from the script, just as he concluded Kanye abruptly stated “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” Instantaneously the cameras cut away from Kanye and straight over to Chris Tucker who looked just as shocked as Mike Myers who stood before him.
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A statement from 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,” the company said.
“It would be most unfortunate 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.“
Although many thought West was speaking out of selfishness, others believe that Kanye simply erupted the thoughts that many have harbored since the Hurricane wreaked havoc throughout the predominantly African-American and poverty stricken city of New Orleans. It has been viewed by many that the Bush administration has taken extremely long to respond to the disaster and frustration has been ringing out as a result.
