Kanye West is still awaiting an apology from Barack Obama nine years on.
The 2009 incident
In September 2009, President Barack Obama was caught out during a pre-interview discussion with CNBC’s John Harwood. During the conversation Obama was quoted as saying that Kanye West is a ‘jackass’.
Obama and Hardwood had been speaking about Kanye’s recent antics at the MTV Video Music Awards. Kanye had rushed onto stage to interrupt Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video.
This is what Barack Obama had said:
“The young lady seems like a perfectly nice person…She’s getting her award. What’s he doing up there?”
Another interviewer then asked, “”Why would he do that?”
“He’s a jackass,” Barack Obama said.
While this conversation was technically off the record as it was prior to the interview, it was picked up by another broadcaster, ABC News, which on that ocassion shared a fibre optic line with CNBC. ABC journalists tweeted Obama’s salty sentiments and then later uploaded a video of the pre-interview onto YouTube.
Watch the video here:
Obama backs his comment in 2012
Three years later, President Obama reiterated his feelings about Kanye.
In an interview with magazine Atlantic Monthly, Obama once again called Kanye West a ‘jackass’. However, this time Obama made sure to explain himself while on record.
This was how the interview played out:
Reporter David Samuels called on President Obama to answer this question: “Kanye or Jay-Z?”
“Jay-Z,” Obama told Samuels.
Obama then went on to say,
“Although I like Kanye. He’s a Chicago guy. Smart. He’s very talented.”
The reporter then asked, “Even though you called him a jackass?”
Obama’s responded: “He is a jackass. But he’s talented.”
Kanye is still upset about the comment
Nine years on and Kanye is still awaiting an apology from the former president.
Initially, Kanye had said:
“Obama has way more important stuff to worry about than my public perception”.
However, after Barack Obama repeated his sentiment in 2012, Kanye became more defensive.
In a recent interview, Kanye was quoted:
“Don’t tell the world I’m a jackass, I’m fighting hard enough”.
Kanye explained that he is still awaiting an apology from Barack Obama. He feels that Obama should have reached out to him to explain the comment was merely a joke.
The rapper then went on a tangent about feeling excluded by the former president. Kanye was not invited to the White House, while Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar had been.
This was what he had to say:
“I ain’t got no problem with these rappers…But you know I’m your favourite…But I’m not safe. But that’s why you love me. So just tell me you love me. And tell the world you love me.”
Kanye has also recently taken to criticising the Barack Obama administration’s management of Chicago. He has since professed his support for President Trump causing major backlash from music fans and some African-Americans.
