Rapper Kanye West has responded to criticism from former President George W. Bush, and said he “definitely can understand the way he feels” about being called a racist in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
In 2005, West famously declared that “George Bush doesn't care about black people” during a live fundraising telethon for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Bush called West's statement “one of the most disgusting moments of my presidency” during a recent interview with Matt Lauer, which is set to air next Monday.
And now West has responded to Bush, comparing Hurricane Katrina to his bizarre outburst [1] at singer Taylor Swift during MTV's Video Music Awards last fall.
“I definitely can understand the way [President Bush] feels, to be accused of being a racist in any way, because the same thing happened to me, where I got accused of being a racist,” West told a Houston radio station, in reference to the heavy criticism he received after the Taylor Swift incident. “For both situations, it was basically a lack of compassion that
The rapper also warned Americans about being too reckless with accusations of racism, and said that he now feels a connection to Bush on a “humanitarian” level.
“I think we're all quick to pull a race card in
West's comparison between his own situation and President Bush's only adds to his reputation of having an enormous ego. The rapper has called himself “the voice of a generation” and regularly refers to himself as a “genius.” He once said that his “greatest pain in life” is that he will never be able to see himself perform live.
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