Here are some photos of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian at LAX after their whirlwind tour of Australia. Kanye did his music, and Kim pushed her fashion line. It all worked out. And now we’re supposed to believe that North is in that stroller? Sure, why not.
Anyway, Kanye likes to yell at people in wheelchairs. We’ve been discussing it all week. Not only does Yeezington love to yell at people in wheelchairs, he thinks he’s immune from criticism (ANY criticism) because he’s a married Christian man. He’s not going to apologize, because Matt Lauer something Steve Jobs something martyr whatever. And now Mark Perriello, president of the American Association of People with Disabilities, has written a really great op-ed about what is turning into a teachable moment. I mean, I guess it’s a teachable moment for artists who like to yell at people in wheelchairs.
Kanye West’s recent demand that every member of the audience stand up during his show in Sydney, Australia showed a fundamental lack of understanding about the world in which we live. Kanye took it a step further by literally shining a light on two members of the audience who remained seated due to their disabilities. Kanye demanded confirmation that they were indeed disabled thereby singling them out. At this point, Kanye went from showing a lack of understanding to being downright offensive. However, Kanye’s actions should come as no surprise because the world of disabilities remains largely hidden from the mainstream. Due to this, most Americans don’t think to consider the quality of life for individuals with disabilities in America.
Many Americans do not realize that an estimated 1 percent of the world’s population uses a wheelchair. That is 1 out of every 100 people. There are approximately 2.6 million wheelchair users in the United States alone. Despite these large numbers, how many people using wheelchairs do you see on the street? In your workplace? At a sporting event? Unless you live in a metropolitan area, chances are the number is very small. That’s because, even with significant advances in accessibility thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act, most Americans with disabilities remain on the sidelines.
For example, 8 out of every 10 Americans with disabilities remains unemployed. Barriers to employment include everything from lack of accessible transportation (subways, buses, taxis) to discriminatory hiring practices. Recently, the Obama Administration implemented a new regulation designed to change these employment numbers, when they set a 7 percent hiring target for people with disabilities by federal contractors. Since 22 percent of the American workforce is employed by federal contractors, this new rule has the power to transform employment outcomes for people with disabilities. Cities across the country, including New York and Washington D.C., are beginning to require accessible taxi cabs, which means more and more people with disabilities can get to and from work and other activities.
These and other initiatives will transform the landscape for people with disabilities. However, the power of one or two people to transform the dialogue should never be underestimated. People with disabilities don’t ask to be singled out. They do however ask to be treated fairly and have access to the same opportunities as any other American. My hope is that Kanye, everyone who attended his concert, and anyone paying attention to this story in the media, learned a little bit more about what it means to be a person with a disability in the modern age and uses their voice to help people with disabilities get off the sideline.
Yes, all of this. I wonder if Kanye has anyone in his life who will print this out and force him to read it? Can someone please send Yeezus this link, perchance?
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
First, “He’s not going to apologize, because Matt Lauer something Steve Jobs something martyr whatever.” is hilarious.
And that statement put out by Mark Perriello was brilliant.
Someone over at jezebel said about his rants, and I loved it,
conclusion: red unicorn ben affleck jesus logarhythm traffic stop.
Can we get an Alpha Mike Foxtrot on baby Yeesus yet?
Maybe Kanye is a bot and the words spewed are algorithms for google search term results.
CAPTCHA THIS, KIDDO!
tightywhiteymoobzillif, I think you have a working song or album title, there.
I can’t…I just…can’t…
He and Kimbecile are never going to go away, are they? :/
At no point in his op-ed did Mark Periello attack Kanye personally, call him names, or suggest anything other than Kanye learning how irresponsible and hurtful his action were. Remember this when Kanye blurts/rants out his reaction to this in the next few days.
Exactly , que Kanye rant in 3…2….
Sadly This letter will not matter to Kanye because he feels he did nothing wrong , he doesn’t care how others live because to him they are insignificant.
I love how this letter was written my only wish was that he would have included “invisible” disabilities. There are many people who are significantly ill / disabled that do not require a wheel chair and do not look sick. Since Kanye made such a stink about verifying that these people are disabled what would have happened if they didnt have a wheelchair or no visible way to prove ? If Kanye had refused to go on there could have been members of the audience who retaliated , or many other scenarios that could have played out. We need to educate people about all disabilities not just the ones you can see.
To Kanye all that matters is “Givenchy art Paris blonde ass Kim famous rich money awesome I’m so awesome famous people name”.
Thank you for mentioning invisible disabilities. Some days I can walk, some days I cannot. Sometimes I can stand, sometimes I cannot. I should not have to carry around my medical records just so some moron can have “proof.” However, I would never pay money to see this jackass anyway.
I have the same problem, mycatloves. There does need to be more awareness for disabled people. Some people assume that everyone is as capable physically as they are themselves, especially if they can’t see anything wrong with someone. I know it’s simply ignorance but I really am rather sick of the arrogance of healthy people. They are fortunate enough to never have to consider the barriers disabled people must deal with, and I wish we had more things in the media to teach empathy to those who would otherwise not be exposed to disability. Sometimes when I’m out at the bank or somewhere where standing in line is necessary I have to sit down and wait for the line to empty. Perhaps I could talk to the staff or others in line to explain but it always seems like too much effort, especially since people usually haven’t heard of what I have, or if they have they don’t take it seriously. It’s almost a relief when I’m bad enough to be in a wheelchair, at least people take me slightly more seriously! Sigh. Apologies for the long and even irrelevant comment. I can just imagine myself in the audience though, needing to sit down and being yelled at to stand. I would either flip the bird or burst into tears, either way it would be extremely unpleasant.
Thank you so much for saying this. I struggle with it on a daily basis. Sometimes, at the peak of my chronic pain I use a cane or even one crutch, but because of the judgment I feel I try to confine that use to my home or only at events that involve a great deal of walking. Most of the time I walk without an aid so my problem is that outside of a slight limp (when I’m feeling my worse) I don’t have any other visible traits that identify the extent of my issues. Fact is, if I had tickets to Kanye’s concert and was feeling well enough to attend, I may or may not have felt able to stand upon his command. If I did it would have been because I felt intimidated and singled out. His behavior was wrong on so, so, so many levels. I know some people hate it when others use Karma as a defense, but I believe in it and I won’t be surprised if one day Mr. West finds himself in some way incapacitated and unable to “perform” on random command. When that time comes I hope he feels humiliated and afraid because that is no doubt how he makes others feel on a daily basis.
No one other than my family and closest friends know the pain I suffer on a daily basis. They respect my desire to keep these things to myself and my tight circle. Is society now telling me that I have to wave my disabled flag or otherwise I’m expected to do as they say? Most disabilities are invisible and those who suffer from them shouldn’t have to put them on display to explain their trials and tribulations.
This is so true! I have a very close friend who has a handicap parking tag. Actually, he doesn’t drive at all, because of his traumatic brain injury. He can walk, and if you didn’t know how much pain he was in you’d think “why’s that guy get a handicap tag.” So many people have heaped abuse on both him and his wife when they go to the store. Those people don’t realize he would never be able to get around the store if he had to walk across that parking list. And because part of his injury he no longer has the ability to map space 3d and well as not make short term memories, he would be completely lost (not be able to find the car again) if he and his wife got separated and he didn’t know the car was close by.
As I’ve said, they have had so much abuse heaped on them it’s made him not want to go out, and he’s already so isolated it was a thing they could do together that made him feel like he was still a functioning member of their partnership.
Someone needs to knock this moron off the pedestal he’s put himself on. Him and his plastic wife need to go away. I will never understand why these people have so many fans. NEVER.
They really do need to go away. This latest incident has me so disgusted. It is no longer fun to snark at them, especially Kanye.
We’re clicking on the links. If we want him to go away, we have to make his name not drive traffic.
Silly chap clearly doesn’t realise that people who can really walk hire wheelchairs and buy tickets to Yeezington gigs specifically so that they can disrespect this MARRIED, CHRISTIAN, MAN. Of course they’ve got jobs; disrespecting Kanye for no good reason isn’t a cheap endeavour, dontchaknow.
I don’t know about Kanye’s concerts but some people that are confined to wheelchairs do hire themselves and their disabilities out and earn a lot from doing so.
Wealthy families who plan to visit popular amusement parks such as Disneyland often hire a disabled person for $800-1000 per day + expenses just so that they can avoid the long lines.
Can you provide a link to that?
I’ve never heard of that practice, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t occur. However, Disney stopped line privileges because able-bodied people were renting wheelchairs/scooters to avoid waiting in line. The last time we were there, in August of 2013, people on scooters and in wheelchairs waited along with the rest of us. Disney just widened the queues so they were accessible, and had attendants to help people onto the rides – and whisk the wheelchairs to the exit so that they were ready when people got off the ride. It was surprisingly efficient.
My father has terrible arthritis in his knees and requires a scooter. There were few places that he couldn’t go while we were in Disney, and we never jumped a line.
Disneyland and World actually changed their policy significantly because of this happening. It’s now called the DAS card and in the end a minority of people that did this hurt the majority of people that didn’t. My daughter’s syndrome includes refractory epilepsy but she is very aware of what is going on around her and I think she would love Disney but this new policy makes it hard for us and other families that have members with severs disabilities to even think about taking a trip there which makes me sad since I went a few times as a child and loved it.
Um… I was being satirical, Tippy. Now I wish I hadn’t been!
I think Sixer was being ironic.
I remember reading about that a few months ago. bizarre. had someone with a disability thought it up, part of me would think “kudos for entrepreneurial spirit,” but I’m sure some very sleazy rich person came up with the idea
Ive heard of that. live 2 hrs from disneyworld
He’s such an a-hole. It wouldn’t matter if you’d tattoo this on his body, it still wouldn’t enlighten him. In his mind, he is the be all to end all. The sun rises and sets for him. There isn’t a humble bone in his body.
The only person Kayne cares about is himself. If someone read that item about people with disabilities to him. Kayne would just put that pasta strainer mask on and say he is the saviour of the world. Everyone who criticizes him is either jealous or racist . Kayne is just a jack a**
THIS. He and his “wife” are both uneducated, narcissistic wastes of oxygen.
I want this president to beat the crap of Kanye until he needs a wheelchair for himself
Nah, he’d probably cure himself
I thought the OpEd was very gentle and restrained. I was already repulsed by Kanye’s behavior, definitely, but to be honest, I sort of thought “what do you expect” or “consider the source.” This made me think about those people who just wanted to be a part of a fun concert like everybody else being singled out by the guy they came to see, having lights shined on them, having to be stared at by the whole audience. All for something that’s not their fault and that they would probably very much like to change. I feel sick inside.
The OpEd’s piece was brilliant but yes very restrained. I was actually hoping that he would have gone in on him more and totally dusted that jackass out (lol!) That he chose not to just shows his measure of humanity even more. Unlike, of course, the jackass in question and his ignorant wife who defended him. This whole incident was repulsive and so hurtful.
Not only that but the audience were asks booing these individuals that did not stand up. And Kim defended his actions.
The audience booed the people in the wheelchairs???
the audience was ASKED to boo them and they complied with the request?!
That’s how I feel, GNAT. That nasty squirmy feeling inside when you see somebody dish out public humiliation for no reason whatsoever.
That’s what bothered me the most too. It was bad enough that he stopped the show, stared at them, and whined about having to wait, but doing so made the ENTIRE audience turn and stare at them too, and then started shouting back to Kanye that they were in wheelchairs.
I saw a video a few weeks ago by a guy who wanted to share his experience of what it was like to be a little person. Some of the things people said to him were very insensitive, and it’s amazing how obvious some people were about staring simply because he’s physically “different” than they are. He, just like anyone else, wants to be treated equally and not ostracized for a physical characteristic he has no control over. I would imagine anyone dealing with a condition, illness, disability, prosthetic, or any other kind of physical challenge wants the same – and by pitching a fit and making thousands of people stare at the 2 people, Kanye took that away from them.
Is it wrong that I’d like to bring him to the top of a very steep hill, strap him into a wheelchair let go and wave bye bye as I cackle ala Lucifer’s Homegirl?
As long as you include his freak show of a wife.
Sounds good to me.
I’ll help you push him off the top of the hill.
1. No one would DARE show this to this self absorbed man
2. It’s like he’s distancing himself from Kim and Nori in these photos. I’ve actually never seen a photo of him pushing a stroller
They really look like they are in the middle of a fight, or something in this photo, don’t they?
Yeezus can heal his followers.
excellent points.
aside from kanye, i have been thinking about this issue for the last couple of weeks because my husband sprained his ankle and has been on crutches. clearly, this is a temporary condition that isn’t very “serious,” but, man, it has made me realize how many places are not accessible for people in wheelchairs or on crutches. and what an obstacle it is to sometimes even get to the ones that are accessible. finding a working elevator on the metro is impossible at some stations – wth?! (not to mention, the constant stream of clearly well-intentioned, but somewhat annoying, people who stop him to ask what happened, who want to pray on his ankle, etc.)
I recently finished a disabilities specialist program. In one of my classes we went to a public place where we had to use a wheel chair. My first observation was that the receptionist could not see me because the counter was to high. Second observation was it was very frustrating and time consuming to simply go into a small break room and get a cup of water. I banged into everything. And forgot about getting in and out of a bathroom.
It was a great experience because it gave me a first hand look at how many barriers can stand in the way of what seems like a simple task for a person with a disability.
Kanye is a a supreme a-hole. I don’t know what else to say.
When I worked in the disability field I used to deliver the odd guest spot at universities. One of my go-to activities was putting blackout goggles on half the class and have the other half help them get around. It was, pardon the pun, a real eye opener.
I was travelling last summer and in the Amsterdam airport an had the following during my layover at the Amsterdam airport. A woman using one of the in-airport wheelchairs was left at the bathroom entrance. She had some mobility in her feet, but didn’t seem to have strong enough arms to wheel herself, because she had lifted the foot rests was doing a little scoot scoot to get into the bathroom. Also the wheelchair was really really heavy–it has these big metal bars. Maybe to prevent it from being stolen?
I t was one of those bathroom entrances with a long narrow corridor that could accommodate a line or something. I asked her if she would like some help, so we got her in to the bathroom more quickly. Then there was an able-bodied person in the handicapped stall for a long time (it looked like they were changing or something.. there were clothes on the floor) , so finally she chose to use the smaller stall. Another waiting patron pitched in, and we were able to get her situated in the stall and help her back out again to the chair. When we got back outside, the airport employee who had helped her to the bathroom had left, so i got her back to her gate.
She didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak German, but we had a sort of conversation, and she said thank you a lot. But really, what a thing. To know, all the time, that you won’t be able to do basic things unless a stranger happens to notice and be kind? And why would the airline give her a male attendant when she was going to the bathroom? The whole experience was baffling and made me want to storm around the airport and yell and shake people. And she was so calm and grateful and I felt bad that she should have to be grateful for basic courtesy.
It also made me rethink all the times I have used the handicapped stall because “there’s no one here who needs it.” I knew that the handicapped stall was occupied by an able bodied person because after I dropped her off I went back to take care of my own business, and saw the woman come out and make a comment to a companion about how nice it was to freshen up. She had missed the whole thing–she had no idea what had transpired in that bathroom while she was changing. It’s a hard thing, because (if you are a women) you know of the long waits that can happen in a bathroom, and leaving that stall empty seems like a waste. But that day it would have made a world of difference to that one woman.
Thank you for your post, Cane. Very informative and insightful!
His reaction is all the evidence you need that he’s truly delusional. Any half-baked celeb would know to simply say, “I was wrong, and I’m sorry.” Not Kanye.
I still think the most epic way to get him back would be for a bunch of people to buy out the front rows in his concerts and then all show up in wheelchairs. Just troll him constantly from this point forward. He deserves it.
Hmmm – I think that is an awesome idea, Sam.
Ugh at that last picture. Kim makes it her business for paps to get a picture of that butt.
Mark Periello took the high road on this. I applaud him for not sinking to Mr. Kardashian’s level.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Kanye also compare himself to a holocaust survivor and civil rights protestor?
he compared the plight of celebrities to those
A very nice letter. It was a learning moment for so many people and I really did hope Kanye would learn something but based on yesterday’s quotes I guess he is too far gone for that. 🙁
I’ve never seen Kanye pushing Nori’s stroller, not once in a pap photo. He probably thinks pushing her stroller is a insult to his genius. Steve Jobs, nor Jesus would ever push a stroller.
Why would he want to push an empty stroller? He’ll leave that task for his empty headed wife.
His mind will motivate the stroller to move on its own. Empty or not.
Disabled people really are deserving of so much more awareness And consideration. It kills me how little focus the anti-bullying campaigns give to people with disabilities.
Aww, go easy on him. he’s married and a Christian, and therefore a good person.
Im starting to wonder if this riff with Jay/Bey has as much to do with Kim as we have been lead to believe. Maybe they just dont want to be around Kanye anymore because he’s awful?
And Kanye looks bad to the Carters’ image. He’s a crazy maniac who believes that he is God (or, at least, thinks he is on par with God). Kanye can’t be God if the Carters think they are gods, too. There is a power struggle between them. We will only know who wins when the Carters and Wests go head-to-head in the Battle of the Titans’ egos.
LOL! Im on Team Carter!
The real problem is that everyone seems to always let this jerk off the hook for the various and many totally stupid things that he has said. He still isn’t sorry for the Taylor Swift incident so why would he be sorry about this one? After all he just wants folks to have a good time (wink) at his concerts and to dance when he wants them to dance and to be quiet and listen to his rants when he wants to blast whites for being white or Corporations for not giving him millions so he can design a boxy t-shirt that looks similar to what the gents were wearing in the forties. He thinks he is god because no one has stood up and told him NO and that means you Kimmel and Fallon and the media as a whole. It is time someone somewhere told him just exactly how wrong he is on oh so many subjects.
+1 !!!
Kanye needs to apologize for what he did whether if he didn’t intended to offend anyone or not…he still offended people who paid GOOD money to see him perform.
Love the letter, but I don’t think it’ll have any impact at all. Kanye lives in a Kanye bubble that seems to be impenetrable by, well, anything. He’s never wrong, he’s the victim, he’s the genius, etc. People like him don’t learn, period; I think he’ll always be like this. It’s sad, really, and also infuriating.
Yep. This is the problem when you have enough $ to surround yourself with “Yes Men” and buy friends in high places (cough-Anna Wintour-cough). He will never learn because for the last however many years he has been told he’s always right, and nobody around him will tell him he’s wrong.
AFFLECK!
what he says is true and needs wide publicity, but Kanye really isnt the average person. even in a society where people know that Kanye would pull the same thing.
im not even offended by this incredible outrageous act, it is so bizarre to me, im far too puzzled to be offended. why would he do that? it does not make any sense.
deep down i hope for his sake that Kanye is the most brilliant performance artist that will unveil soon that all of his antics were trolling on an epic level. i refuse to believe that he is a real person.
I wish his mother were still alive. By all account he would do anything she asked of him-and maybe if she were still a stabilizing force in his life he would be such the ego-monster he is-and we may have been spared the unholy demon that is the Kardashian-West nightmare.
He shouldn’t get a pass just because his Mom died. He’s almost 40 for god’s sake. He’s responsible for his own actions.
^ this. His is not the only mother who has died–yet, so many people defend him because of this.
she made that monster ……..you can tell he was a spoil rotten over indulged child who got his way in everything… someone had to have gave him the idea he was better than other people….smarter the others and above others and that sadly comes usually from the mom……and he never out grew it….
ketjo, I agree. Unfortunately there are too many adult men out there whose mothers put them on a pedestal when they were young and gave them the impression that the world revolves around them.
I joke about how my mother treated my older brother like he was the messiah child but I think Kanye’s mom must have taken that treatment seriously
This is a man who talks about civil rights and racism when in court someone quote his own awful lyrics, but doesn’t think twice about humiliating persons in wheelchair, who paid to go to see him. And of course he is not going to apologize.
Does anyone else think that’s a life-sized doll in the stroller w/ the feet hanging out? This is the second time that thought has occurred to me. No baby Nori’s age stays that still and that silent.
So tired of their bogus antics.
Kanye is a brainiac in his own mind only. He so needs to STFU.
That was my first thought also. Kim instagrams everything – any Nori-in-Australia pictures surfacing there? At her age, I would expect someone to be carrying her or at least have her in a stroller where she sits and watches the world. They can always have a blanket handy to protect her from flashbulbs and paps if any other than Kim’s partners show up.
Kanye is the ABSOLUTE WORST and honestly I dont think he is well..
My gosh, the NFL could take a lesson from Mark Perriello. Perhaps this man could write an op-ed on behalf of beaten children, women and dogs. Outstanding on behalf of people with disabilities. Kanye… learn another K, called karma, it will come someday.
Maybe he ought to have a severely broken leg and spend a few months in a wheelchair….come Karma, come..
If I was forced to go to one of his shows, because God knows I would NEVER intentionally do that, but if I did, I wouldn’t have stood up either. And, I’m NOT disabled.
So, I’m interesting in knowing, which I’m sure no one will know but him, why he stops a show to demand people stand up. What is he going to do? Kick me out of the theater??? What if I was tired. Am I not allowed to sit because HE demands it ? Last time I checked, I think Australia is a free country….and people had choices. Apparently not with this scumbag. I hope a LOT of people in high positions slam this idiot more and more and more until he finally shuts the F up!!!
These Kanye stories would be better if Celebitchy just started consistently calling him Jackass in headlines and text: “Jackass declared himself God today,” “Jackass and Kim crashed a fashion show” etc.
Did they really drag Nori with them? The baby buggy suggests they took towel baby, Nori is too old for that especially if as Kim the Liar claims she’s walking. Any real sightings of the poor kid? Did she run away with a koala? Australian readers- watch for her in the outback.
Is anyone going to bother to point out that the incident in question NEVER happened? Multiple youtube videos have now proven this, yet for some reason there are still websites reporting about this incident as if it was fact.
I wish too he would have been more inclusive you don’t have to be in a wheelchair to be disabled and unable to stand or walk. It’s funny because some people think because someone can walk albeit barely and they aren’t in a wheelchair they aren’t really disabled. Kanye won’t read this he is too egotistical but I would love for someone to take him to task over this he humiliated those 2 people and he really thinks he is a Christian which is so funny. People don’t realise the isolation and problems people with disabilities face everyday not too forget to mention the bullying, stares and bad treatment. It isn’t like there are no disabled people out in the world it’s that many people choose not to notice or acknowledge them there is nothing more scary then seeing that the human body is not invincible and everyone has the possibility of becoming disabled.