'I don't trust anyone but myself! Everyone has an agenda,' West tweeted.
By Gil Kaufman
Kanye West appears on the "Today" show on Wednesday
Photo: NBC
The last time Kanye West put out an album, he did almost no press, preferring to speak to his fans and followers through social media. But after taking time off following the 2009 Taylor Swift incident at the MTV Video Music Awards, the braggadocious MC has come back a seemingly chastened man, sitting down with a number of media outlets, owning up to some of his past mistakes and trying to keep his infamously healthy ego in check.
On Wednesday (November 10), however, West flew into one of his old-school rages, lashing out at the "Today" show and host Matt Lauer for an interview that morning in which the rapper felt he was being put on blast. The incident that apparently sparked his rage was a segment in which West was asked about his comment about former president George W. Bush, who Kanye famously called out during a Hurricane Katrina telethon with the line "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
West has spoken out in the past week about the incident, which Bush has called one of the lowest points of his presidency during media rounds to promote his new Oval Office memoir, "Decision Points." Though he's tried to express his empathy with Bush over the incident, West said he was thrown under the bus by Lauer during their interview.
"I went up there to express how I was empathetic to Bush because I labeled him a racist and years later I got labeled as a racist," West tweeted early Wednesday morning, referring to the criticism he received for the Swift incident.
Though the full interview does not appear to have aired yet, in an excerpt played on the "Today" show, Lauer shows Bush a clip of West saying, "I would tell George Bush in my moment of frustration I didn't have the grounds to call him a racist. But I believe that in a situation of high emotion like that, we as human beings don't always choose the right words." Bush appeared to accept West's apology, but in his Twitter screed, the Chicago MC was livid that "Today" producers coupled his contrition with images of the Swift bum rush.
"While I was trying to give the interview they started playing the 'MTV' under me with audio!!!!!!!," he wrote, before firing off a string of emotionally charged tweets about his hurt feelings. "I don't mess with Matt Lauer or the Today Show ... and that's a very nice way for me to put it! ... HE TRIED TO FORCE MY ANSWERS. IT WAS VERY BRUTAL AND I CAME THERE WITH ONLY POSITIVE INTENT ... I feel very alone very used very tortured very forced very misunderstood very hollow very very misused ... I don't trust anyone but myself! Everyone has an agenda. I don't do press anymore. I can't be everything to everybody anymore ... I can't be everybody's hero and villain savior and sinner Christian and anti Christ! ... I can't take anymore advice!!! I create, I'm creative, I have a good heart, everyone will see and understand one day."
The rant continued for half a dozen more tweets, during which he tweet-hollered that "Everything sounds like noise !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" again lamenting that he can't trust anyone and saying he felt "very judged," scrutinized and criticized. "I want everyone to know I have lows all the time but I make it through them!"
He continued lashing out at Lauer, asking if he "thought that sh-- was cool ... He played clips of Bush and asked me to look at his face while I was trying to talk to him. I wish Michael Jackson had twitter!!!!!!" he wrote, following up with a suggestion that like the late pop icon, Yeezy feels like the media is setting him up.
"This is rock and roll life my people ... you can't stop the truth you can't stop the music and I have to be strong or 'they' win!!!!" he concluded.
A spokesperson for the "Today" show could not be reached for comment at press time.
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