May 19, 2015
Kanye West has officially answered everyone's collective question, what exactly happened during his Billboard Music Awards performance? As many gathered from the choppy audio, he was censored. In a statement sent to The Hollywood Reporter, Kanye's publicist wrote:
Kanye West was grossly over-censored at the Billboard Music Awards. Non-profane lyrics such as 'with my leather black jeans on' were muted for over 30 second intervals. As a result, his voice and performance were seriously misrepresented. It is ridiculous that in 2015, unwarranted censorship is something that artists still have to fight against. Although West was clearly set up to face elements beyond his control during the live broadcast, he would like to apologize to the television audience who were unable to enjoy the performance the way he envisioned.
The one glaring omission from the statement however is a response to the reports that Kanye didn't rehearse. "He's Kanye," a production source at the awards show told TMZ. "What are we supposed to do?" Re-watch Kanye's performance below.
