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 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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