Singer Kanye West (who is black), in a promotional TV appearance with Mike Meyers (who is white) for the NBC telethon to raise money for Katrina victims.
[Kanye — not reading from teleprompter, as planned]: "I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family it says they are looting if you see a white
family it says they are looking for food. (…) those are my people down there. (…) "We already realize a lot of the people that could help are at war now
fighting another way and they've given them permission to go down and shoot
us."[Meyers, visibly uncomfortable, reads from prompter script. Camera cuts back to Kanye, who pauses, then says]
"George Bush doesn't care about black people!"
[camera abruptly switches back to a stunned Myers, then to actor Chris Tucker]
Link to transcript and context in a WaPo story.
NBC quickly issued this statement:
Kanye West departed from the scripted comments that were prepared for him, and his opinions in no way represent the views of the networks. 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.
But they are far more than one man's opinion.
Link to video (Windows); Link (Quicktime), a torrent, here is another mirror. (Thanks, David Gallardo, Charles Vestal, and Kinsley)
Reader comment: Mr. Snitch says,
Your linked Kayne West video feeds have maxed out and are not working. Consider eliminating some of them, and adding this link, which is responding well: Link
Reader comment: Jason Short says,
Comcast is currently censoring CNN Headline news right now because they are showing the Kayne West clip. Every half hour the last 8 minutes of the CNN broadcast is being replaced by public access TV.
Update: not so, Comcast isn't "censoring" the broadcast. As reader Patrick J Kubley explains,
Comcast has actually been airing those ads during those times for the last few years now. At least here in the Bay Area and down in the San Joaquin Valley where my family lives. I don't know for sure, but I was under the impression that that was true for every market in the western US.
Furthermore, they're more like Public Service segments than ads. This guy, Jack Hanson I think his name is, interviews a particular member of the local community about a certain subject (eg, road problems, neighborhood events, LGBT issues, etc.) They talk for 8 minutes, and a half hour later another taped segment appears with a different guest on. Unless Comcast has been airing something else today (I haven't been home all day to watch the news), then these "ads" are simply part of the regular programming.
