New York Times reports MC enlisted the assistance of a public-relations firm to prepare for now-infamous sit-down.
By Mawuse Ziegbe
Kanye West appears on the "Today" show with Matt Lauer
Photo: NBC
Despite Kanye West's denouncement of his recent "Today" show interview, the MC initially took the sit-down very seriously, according to The New York Times.
The paper reports that Yeezy recruited public-relations firm Rubenstein Communications to prep him for his sit-down with Matt Lauer. Although he's currently shunning all things related to "Today," the MC reportedly approached the program about responding to President George Bush's thoughts about West's Hurricane Katrina telethon outburst during a recent interview on the NBC show. The "Power" MC apparently brought in the firm to make sure his comments about the former commander in chief were communicated effectively.
However, after watching the prime-time Bush broadcast Monday, West and the firm decided the former president didn't say enough about the MC to warrant a lengthy sit-down. Yet, Tuesday morning, the MC's team decided the interview was back on, apparently without the knowledge of the Rubenstein coach who had to hustle to the studios to help his client.
During the conversation with Lauer, 'Ye bristled at the show's use of footage from Bush's interview and West's 2009 MTV VMA run-in with Taylor Swift while he was speaking. The MC blasted the show on Twitter after Tuesday's taping, and the "Today" show defended its use of running archival footage during interviews, which is a common broadcast practice not unique to the program. West posted another emotional screed Friday morning (November 12) announcing that he was pulling out of a scheduled "Today" concert on November 26.
"I'm not performing on the 'Today' show for obvious reasons," West wrote. "I'm so happy the world got to see a small piece of 'the set up.' I blatantly said I'm not performing [on the show] on a tweet ... and the next day they still announced a performance."
He also broke down his issues with the use of the footage, which he maintained was used to "prompt his emotions."
"I want you guys to look at that footage and start to put everything together now. It's very simple to call someone angry or spoiled or the one thousand names I've been called, but it's harder to try to take a look at what's really behind the curtain," he wrote. "I'm so happy that my real fans are not as 'basic' as the media makes them out to be. Did you see them try to justify playing the audio [of West's infamous VMA run-in with Taylor Swift] under my interview? Yo, sometimes you're just wrong and it ain't nothing you can say to justify it. Believe me, I know!"
Since the fallout from the interview, the firm and West have parted ways, according to the Times.
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