Kanye West continues to defend himself against Jimmy Kimmel’s attempt to trivialize his interviews with BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe this week. The problem started when the comedian created a spoof of the interview using children to portray West, which made the interview look silly. Since then the two have been sparring via Twitter, with Kimmel responding on his show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” According to mtv.com:
“The feud wasn’t over though, because rather than respond to Kimmel’s latest round of barbs, on Friday (September 27), Kanye let his friend Jibril Durimel do it for him. (Jibril, along with his twin brother Jalan, works in “creative directing, photography and filmmaking, collaborative designing [and] brand and fashion consulting,” according to his bio.)”
“Under the heading ‘COMMENT FROM JIBRIL DURIMEL, West posted across several tweets, a statement that read, in part: ‘I’m really against what Jimmy K. did with that parody. Like Kanye said, finally someone speaks some inspirational and real words … and JK comes with this. It’s simple, mediocre dreamers [who] think this is humorous, but all Kanye is saying in the interview is to dream to be the best. If more people actually listened they’d grow wiser after listening to the interview. Jimmy K is the EVIL guy trying to keep people in a boz and not want more out of themselves. He does this by making fun of real dreamers.”
Although West is often painted in the media as ego maniac, it often seems he’s being portrayed as ‘angry black guy.’ Instead of being called passionate, he’s often ridiculed. Although Kimmel’s skit may have seemed harmless on the surface, it does underscore the media’s affinity for building up certain people but tearing down others. As reported by slate.com:
“Instead of trying to understand, Kimmel does the opposite: He revels in his lack of comprehension, and puts Kanye’s words in the mouth of a child, in order to infantilize him. The point of the joke is clear: I don’t understand these remarks, so clearly they are the nonsense talk of a small child.”
There will certainly be more to come from this feud, with dissuasion from both sides.
