Kanye West thinks he’s not “just a celebrity.”
“For me, you know, I’m a creative genius and there’s no other way to word it. I know you’re not supposed to say that about yourself. And I say things the wrong way a lot of times but my intention is always positive,” West said during his appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
West and host Jimmy Kimmel had seemingly been engaged in a big Twitter feud (or a well-orchestrated publicity stunt). The seeming battle began after an episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” where the host mocked West’s recent interview with BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe. During the interview, West told Lowe:
“I’m the number one rock star on the planet” among other things.
Before West appeared on tonight’s show, Kimmel said:
“I hope he doesn’t have one of those trunk-popping machine guns like they had on ‘Breaking Bad‘ on the finale.”
Kimmel also said that his dispute with West wasn’t a prank.
“You know honestly I’ve been too busy masterminding the giant prank going on in Washington D.C. right now, that one is going gangbusters,” he joked.
As West came out, Kimmel immediately told him “I wanted to clear this up.”
Kimmel confessed that he had only seen parts of the BBC interview with West before he aired a comedy bit about it.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” West replied.
West confirmed the dispute wasn’t a stunt. “I’ve never done a publicity stunt in my life,” the rapper said.
West said he was upset that people feel they can treat celebrities “like zoo animals,” and that feeling prompted him to call Kimmel to talk about the comedy bit he aired. He also felt that he should call Kimmel to talk because they know each other.
Kimmel told West “a lot of people think you’re a jerk” but said that through spending time with him off-camera, he had seen that wasn’t the case.
West suggested that he was misunderstood by the public in part because of his tastes. He said that he cares about “cool stuff” like Gucci slippers, has an art background, and considers himself “more of a messenger than a rapper.”
“I care about protecting my girl, protecting my baby, and protecting my ideas and my dreams,” West said.
West defended his willingness to praise himself in public.
“For me to say I wasn’t a genius I would just be lying to you and to myself,” West said.
He went on to argue that his girlfriend Kim Kardashian deserved a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and that she had unfairly been denied a spot because she is a reality star.
During the show an ad for West’s Yeezus tour was aired.
After a break, West said he wrote his tweets about Kimmel while in his home in Los Angeles. He explained that he thinks that the media tries to break the spirits of creative people, and tweeting his feelings felt like a subversive act. “I do everything I can to break media,” West said.
He suggested there was a second set of tweets the public hasn’t seen.
West also talked about his attempts to break through in the fashion world. He said “classism” was blocking his ability to rise in the industry. He said he wants to apply what he’s done in music in other fields.
“I refuse to follow those rules that society has set up and the way that they can control people with low self-esteem,” he said. He added “it’s about truth. It’s about information, it’s about awesomeness, and the only luxury is time.”
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