One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Video: Kanye Yells At Fan In Wheelchair To 'Stand Up' During Concert
Kanye West performs at the Way Out West festival on August 13, 2011 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Carl Bjorklund / Shutterstock.com
Jesus might walk with you, Kanye, but the rapper learned on Friday night that fans of his who rely on wheelchairs might have a little difficulty doing so.
At his concert on Friday night in Sydney, Australia, implored audience members in the Quantas Credit Union Area to all stand up before he moved on to the next song. "Unless you got a handicap pass and you get special parking and shit," the rapper said, nobody was excused from sitting down. Almost everybody complied, except for two fans in the arena who became the target of Kanye's admonishment. The crowd began to loudly boo their disapproval.
The first waved their prosthetic limb in the air to signal to Yeezy they had an excuse, to which the rapper told them, "OK, you fine," according to The Daily Beast.
The second fan was then singled out by West, which prompted him to complain, "This is the longest I've had to wait to do a song, it's unbelievable." The crowd tried gesturing to the rapper that the fan was actually in a wheelchair, but he did not get confirmation until his bodyguard walked into the crowd to make sure.
"He is in a wheelchair? It's fine!," West announced before going into a performance of "The Good Life."
As boneheaded and bad as the misunderstanding seems to be, it didn't seem as if Kanye meant any harm. Back in June, West gave his mic to a disabled fan at a concert in Austin when he noticed that fans had blocked his view from the second row. Those fans were probably standing the whole time.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
