A handful of invasive paparazzi caught Kanye West in a generous mood as he was refueling his matte black Lamborghini at a gas station in Calabasas, California, on Friday (October 11). Even though they were clearly trying to antagonize the Yeezus MC (as caught by their own cameras), West stopped to have a levelheaded conversation with them about respect and helping one another out. In the TMZ clip, one photographer opens by clumsily referencing Ye’s statement via Jimmy Kimmel Live, “Never think I’m not from Chicago.”
“My mama told me to respect doctors,” says the shutterbug. “Don’t respect people from where they’re from.” West ignores that but on a second trip from the gas station cash register to his car, a different paparazzi asks him if he feels like he’s getting the kind of respect that a superstar deserves. That’s when Kanye stops and, without a hint of malice or condescension in his voice, explains the following completely reasonable concept: “It’s not about being a superstar, it’s about being a human being. And I don’t really appreciate that.”
The video is currently not free to embed, but below you’ll find the entire talk, in which West reveals his fears about his daughter being harassed by the paparazzi, even while acknowledging that those same men “help me influence” and “help Kim’s power.” He also speaks about his July altercation with a photographer at the Los Angeles International Airport, for which he recently went to court. Ultimately, he “would prefer that we just have a decent relationship. Watch at TMZ, and read below:
“It’s not about being a superstar, it’s about being a human being. And I don’t really appreciate that. One of these guys here was saying some bullshit earlier like, ‘You’re supposed to respect doctors.’ Nah, you got to respect human beings.
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“You know, my family is growing up. Think about this, if you had a daughter … and you guys say crazy shit to me all the time. You say it to my family and ask about this and [that]. I couldn’t imagine my daughter being 4 years old, you know, and you guys screaming at her. I think somebody screamed at Tom Cruise’s daughter or something like that.
“The guy set me up at the airport the other day. He was fucking laughing and shit, and … What I didn’t get to say on Jimmy Kimmel is that’s the day I found out that my grandfather was not gonna make it. He passed two weeks later. But when I’m coming out the airport because, ‘It’s Kanye, whatever, we’re gonna fuck with him, we’re gonna antagonize him.’ I tried to stop his camera and stuff. He fell down, faked it, then people we’re talking about, ‘Oh yo, why did you hit that guy?’ I obviously didn’t hit the guy, but I’m going through shit. I’m trying to have a business call.
“I know you guys are gonna photograph me, I know it makes a cool photo. I got a cool ass car and shit. I got a dope-ass outfit on. It’s all good and shit. But it’s like, we’re in this together. You guys help me influence, you help with the family. You help Kim’s power and everything. I’m not trying to fucking be at you guys in any type of negative way, I don’t want you guys being negative to me. And I would prefer that we just have a decent relationship.”
