You all know how Kanye can be at times, but he definitely isn’t crazy enough to believe that the powers of Yeezus could make a wheelchair-bound man stand up and dance.
Over the weekend, Kanye ruffled a few fans feathers for being a jerk, after he stopped his Australian show and told everyone he would not continue performing until everyone was on their feet.
“I decided that I can’t do the rest of this song unless everybody stands up. Unless you’ve got a handicapped pass, and you get special parking and sh-t. I will see you if you don’t stand up.”
In footage that has circulated, he actually looked around the crowd to make sure everyone was standing and spotted two people who weren’t. One started waving his prosthetic limb at Kanye to let him know why he was still sitting and the other just sat in his wheelchair until Kanye’s security came up to confirm that he was indeed in a wheelchair. Kanye asked:
“Is he in a wheelchair? We gotta wait then….This is the longest I ever had to wait to start a song. Unbelievable. But if he is in a wheelchair, it’s fine.”
Whoa!
According to sources close to Kanye, he didn’t have any malicious intent and the whole thing is being blown out of proportion, but imagine being that fan, and being singled out in a stadium of tens of thousands of people. And having a show held up while it’s confirmed whether or not you are sitting in a wheelchair or not? That’s insensitive.
A spokesperson for People With Disability Australia believes he should apologize:
Asking disabled people to show their handicap pass is patronising and inappropriate. He should apologise. Kanye West would also benefit from disability awareness training.
Watch footage of the incident below.