Everyone’s annoyed with Kanye West for trying to shame a man in a wheelchair into standing during a concert, only that didn’t actually happen.
(Update: Kanye has addressed wheelchair-gate, blasts media for sensationalizing story.)
During multiple shows of his ongoing Australian tour, Kanye has stopping midway through his performance of “Good Life” to ask the audience to stand up. He actually first did so during a show in Melbourne on September 10th and, as you can see in the video below, his request definitely came across more playful than shameful. “Oh, you got a cast? Cool,” Kanye quipped.
Melbourne – September 10th:
Kanye’s concert in Sydney on September 12th is what’s generating a majority of today’s headlines. Once again, he stopped midway though “Good Life” and proceeded to call out audience members who were sitting down. “I can’t do this song,” he proclaimed. “I can’t do this show until everybody stand up […] Unless you got a handicap pass and you get special parking and shit.” Admittedly, the extended break came across quite awkward, but at no point did he berate any of the wheelchair-bound attendees. In fact, at one point he said, “If he’s in a wheelchair, it’s fine.” Watch the full video below.
Sydney – September 12th:
