Kanye West weighed in on the alleged altercation between Chris Brown and Rihanna during a February 13 taping of
VH1's "Storytellers," although his comments will not appear in the show.
According to a Reuters report, at one point during the taping West asked the crowd, "Can't we give Chris a break? ... I know I make mistakes in life." Brown, who was arrested during the Grammys and booked on suspicion of making criminal threats, a felony, has not been charged in the case.
West also reportedly received loud applause when he followed by saying, "Michael Jackson, amazing. Michael Phelps, amazing ... He's a real f---in' person; he makes mistakes." West also made a rather puzzing comment about O.J. Simpson, saying, "O.J. Simpson, amazing. Is he not? What he did, when he did, what he did. Was he not amazing, though?"
The taping of the show, which premieres on Saturday night, reportedly lasted three hours, with producers cutting it down to 90 minutes for air. The typical "Storytellers" is one hour long, so the editing out of some of West's comments is not a conspiracy to silence him, according to executive producer Bill Flanagan.
"A lot of the stories that Kanye told went long," Flanagan told Reuters on Thursday. "I tried to get to the essence of his comments." West, known for speaking freely, is an ideal artist for the show, which encourages performers to weave tales about their songs and engage in stage banter, but Flanagan said that while he encourages them to "just keep talking," producers try to eliminate any " 'gotcha moments' that just don't work." A spokesperson for VH1 could not be reached for comment at press time.
The Brown comments were not the only controversy West stirred up on the stage. A Reuters reporter who was reportedly on site during the taping said 'Ye also tore into Radiohead after singer Thom Yorke allegedly snubbed him backstage at the Grammys five days earlier. The dis hurt because West loves the British band, which he considers one of his few artistic rivals.
"So when he performed at the Grammys, I sat the f--- down," West reportedly said.
In terms of music, the show includes versions of "Touch the Sky," "Stronger," "Amazing" and "See You in My Nightmares."
Get resources and information about domestic violence, or check out Think MTV for a video handbook on spotting the warning signs of abuse.
This report is from MTV News.
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