Kanye West vs. His Disabled Fans

I normally don’t pay an ounce of attention to Kayne West and his vapid wife, but when the news broke over the weekend about his bullish behavior at the concert in Sydney, Australia, there was no ignoring him. For those who missed it, here’s a recap: West ordered everyone in the audience to stand up before he’d perform another song. Apparently, everyone stood up, except two concertgoers.

Here’s where it gets ugly. According to a opens in a new window story in Newsday, the performer said:

“‘This is the longest I’ve had to wait to do a song. It’s unbelievable.’ Then some fans started booing at those who weren’t standing and West said, ‘Y’all want to stand up or y’all want to get removed?’”

Finally, he realized that maybe some fans couldn’t stand up (duh). One of the two (to protect himself I’d bet) started waving his prosthetic leg in the air. The other must have been scared out of his/her wits.

“West sent bodyguard Pascal Duvier into the stands to check that the fan in the wheelchair was in fact disabled,” reported Newsday. “‘Now if he’s in a wheelchair, then it’s fine,’ West said. When the bodyguard confirmed it, West started singing again.”

The video posted on YouTube got thousands of hits, with one fan trying to justify West’s behavior with this “thoughtful” comment: “Yeezus! He made a mistake, give him a break.”

Yeah, he made a mistake all right. And that would be believing he’s so ultra important, so powerful he can order anyone to do anything. What’s unforgivable, though, is that West thought it was OK to single out anyone in the audience who wasn’t standing, then throwing a hissy fit and making such A HUGE DEAL out of it.

I assume there are people with disabilities at all his concerts, and, hey, millions of us are out here in the world so it’s not as if he hasn’t been exposed to the fact that not everyone walks. Apparently he doesn’t care how he treats the fans that pay good money to see him perform, so it’s OK to be rude and boorish and embarrass anyone in the audience who doesn’t obey him.

When you’re famous, rich and married to a Kardashian, your perceived power undoubtedly trumps sensitivity or any other quality that marks a good, decent human being.

I, for one, would not stand up for that man for any reason — even if I could. He gives no respect; he gets no respect.