Kanye West Endures Name Calling From President Obama

Kanye West, 34, probably never thought the United States President, Barack Obama, would be uttering his name in interviews, well at least not on accounts of reiterating he’s a jackass.

It all started back in 2009 when the “Otis” rapper bomb-rushed the MTV stage declaring Beyonce should have won the Taylor Swift awarded moon man for Best Female Video.

During an ABC’s Nightline interview a few years ago, the Commander-in-Chief called West a jackass for rudely interrupting Swift’s acceptance speech who looked horrified during the shocking incident.

Fast-forward to a new interview in the May issue of “The Atlantic,” further prompted by what can be deemed as an attempt to stir controversy, the interviewer asked the POTUS, 50, if he preferred the lyrical flow of rapper mogul Jay Z or rapper turned designer Kanye.

“Jay-Z,” he replied with a smile. “Although I like Kanye. He’s a Chicago guy. Smart. He’s very talented.”

Instead of reporter David Samuels taking that answer and continuing on to another subject, he reminded the President of the jab he slung towards the “All Falls Down” rapper years earlier.

Not one to run from his word or at least when the likelihood of an uproar is minimal, the President reiterated: “He is a jackass, but he’s talented.”

Soapbox moment: No disrespect to the President but we can think of more than a few people worthy of being called a jackass 12 times over that he remains quiet on…I don’t think we need to name drop here but let’s just say they dwell in the political arena. Obama has enough training to understand how to answer a question without stirring controversy (he’s done it more times than he should have), he could have simply stated he wishes not to focus on the past and move on. Instead he opted to repeat the words and address a civilian as a jackass. No matter your personal feelings of West, the president of the United States addressing a civilian as such is out of order – and NOT gangster as other readers have stated. Gangster is going AGAINST the norm without the fear of repercussions. At least keep it consistent. Need we mention that 8 of 10 times Kanye’s songs are more inspirational than Jay-Z. Yeah, we said it. *Stepping off soapbox*

What do you think of President Obama addressing Kanye as a ‘jackass’?

 

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Latest from Atlanta Black Star

Back to top