Kanye West has been all over the tabloids this week over news about his massive $53 million debt and his reignited feud with pop star Taylor Swift. And now the rap star has more bad news circulating about him after an audio leak hit the web, letting fans hear West blast “Saturday Night Live” and Swift.
According to media reports, West was unknowingly recorded while backstage before his “SNL” performance. Sources initially claimed that West was blasting “SNL” staff for changing his setup for the stage before it was time for him to perform.
“Look at that shit, they took my f—in’ stage off of SNL without asking me. Now I’m bummed. That and Taylor Swift fake a–,” he said, likely addressing Swift taking a passive aggressive jab at him during her Album of the Year at acceptance speech at this week’s Grammy Awards.
West then continued his angry rant, saying, “Now I ain’t gonna do this, we breaking the motherf—— Internet. I went through six years of this f—ing s—. Let’s get to it, bro.”
He then finished his rant by claiming himself to be one of the most influential men in history.
“Are they f—— crazy? Bro! By 50 percent. Stanley Kubrick, Apostle Paul. Picasso…f—— Picasso and Escobar. By 50 percent more influential than any other human being. Don’t f— with me! Don’t f— with me! Don’t f— with me! By 50 percent, dead or alive, by 50 percent for the next thousand years. Stanley Kubrick. Ye!” West said.
Although many assumed that Ye was yelling at SNL staff or perhaps SNL producers, a source close to the rapper released a statement explaining what really happened.
“He did not yell at SNL staff. This audio was secretly recorded while he was venting his frustration in a private moment with his team. He found out his stage design was changed and taken apart under the direction of the show’s lighting director without anyone’s approval. He had spent an entire day rehearsing and a lot of hard work into the performance. Dramatic set changes were made 30 minutes before going live. It should be understandable why he was upset after being completely blindsided. Kanye was seen hugging Lorne Michaels just before the goodnights and he stayed afterwards to chat with the staff and the cast, and thanked the producers on his way out the door,” the source said.
Other sources claim that West spoke calmly with Michaels about the surprising set change and that Michaels changed it back for him.
