In incredibly offensive, insensitive move, rapper Kanye West – not just once, but twice – demanded that a handicapped attendee at one of his concerts stand up, or he’d stop singing. This is what happens when stars get such big heads they feel entitled; they lose their ability to understand there are normal people who don’t live in ivory towers.
According to TMZ,
An eyewitness told the Daily Mail Australia that Kanye said, “I can’t do this show until everybody stand up. Unless you got a handicap pass and you get special parking and s**t.”
Shortly after Kanye spotted another person in the crowd sitting down and once again stopped the show — then sent one of his employees into the crowd to make sure the person was handicap.
Once the hired gun confirmed the disability … Kanye said “it’s fine” and rapped on.
Kanye once gave the microphone to a fan in a wheelchair, so he doesn’t appear to have anything against the disabled. But what this does reveal is an immense ego that can no longer relate to the average American. Now, imagine if a conservative rock star had repeatedly done what West did to a handicapped concertgoer – it would have been front page news on The New York Times, not just some celebrity website like TMZ. The double standard is loud and appalling.
Update: Video of the incident has now been released.