Kanye West Calls Taylor Swift ‘Fake’ in Alleged Leaked ‘SNL’ Audio
Rumors that Kanye West nearly stormed off this weekend’s Saturday Night Live set, right before the live show, first popped up online shortly after the episode aired. And now it looks like an alleged recording of Kanye's backstage meltdown -- where he expresses upset over the staging of his musical performance and takes a swipe at Taylor Swift -- has leaked online.
"Look at that sh---t. They took my f---ing stage off SNL without asking me. Now I'm bummed," he said in the alleged audio, which was obtained by Page Six. "That and Taylor Swift. Fake ass."
Kanye came under fire last week, after the lyrics to his song "Famous" began circulating online (he raps, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / I made that bitch famous”). He addressed the criticism on Twitter, saying Taylor not only approved of the lyrics, but “came up with” the idea in the first place.
Taylor’s spokesman, however, quickly refuted these claims, saying, “Kanye did not call or approval but to ask Taylor to release his single ‘Famous’ on her Twitter account. She declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message. Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric, ‘I made that bitch famous.'”
The audio continues, as Kanye compares himself to other prolific artists like Stanley Kubric, Pablo Picasso and even Paul the Apostle.
"Now I ain’t gonna do this, we breaking the motherf—ing internet. I went through six years of this f---king shit. Lets get to it bro, lets get to it bro," he says. "Are they f—ing crazy? Bro! By 50 percent. Stanley Kubrick, Apostle Paul, Picasso…f—ing Picasso and Escobar. By 50 percent more influential than any other human being."
A source close to Kanye reportedly told Page Six why he was upset, saying, "Right before he was about to go on live television they took his stage apart. Like any artist, he’s a perfectionist, and wanted his performance to be right. Of course he was upset.”
Listen to the alleged audio above.
A representative for Kanye, meanwhile, released a statement to Billboard about the incident, though it does not mention the Taylor Swift reference. Read that in its entirety below.
"He did not yell at SNL staff. This audio was secretly recorded while he was venting his frustration in a private moment with his team. He found out his stage design was changed and taken apart under the direction of the show's lighting director without anyone's approval. He had spent an entire day rehearsing and a lot of hard work into the performance. Dramatic set changes were made 30 minutes before going live. It should be understandable why he was upset after being completely blindsided.
"Kanye was seen hugging Lorne Michaels just before the goodnights and he stayed afterwards to chat with the staff and the cast, and thanked the producers on his way out the door."
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