Kanye West Trolls The Paparazzi With Thank Yous and Smiles

Few celebrities have shown as much open disdain for the paparazzi as Kanye West — though he’s not wrong in those feelings. They can be annoying and invasive, often provoking stars by lobbing deeply personal and rude comments at them in an attempt to get a response, all in the name of good footage. But rather than give in to this as he has so many times in the past, Kanye had a decidedly different tactic in mind when recently faced with an onslaught of cameras at LAX.

After being immediately surrounded by photogs, the rapper responded to each question with a short and repetitive “thank you,” recalling football player Marshawn Lynch’s similar response when forced to field questions from the media during a postgame interview. The video even ends with Kanye flashing a smile, something that undoubtedly infuriated anyone who was trying to get a rise out of him. There's no greater method of irritation than killing someone with kindness, just ask anyone who's ever worked in customer service.

It's a different version of Kanye than we're used to -- he's been in several altercations with paparazzi before, though it's understandable why: Their constant and persistent presence is, at best, a nuisance.

Take the above video from 2013, for example, where Kanye delivered the heavily gif-ed response: "I appreciate that, but don’t talk. That’s fine, but don’t talk to me. I don’t want to hear paparazzi talk to me or anybody I know. Don’t talk to me at all, and don’t talk to anyone I know at all. And tell everybody: Never talk to anyone that anyone knows. Don’t talk to themselves, don’t talk ever again."

See Kanye turn over a new leaf toward the paparazzi in the video above.

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