Posted on 09/08/2005 11:28:33 AM PDT by schaketo
The National Football League is refusing to punt Kanye West, despite the rapper's controversial trashing of President Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina.
The NFL stood by the hip-hop star Tuesday at a Los Angeles press conference announcing the talent lineup for the upcoming Opening Kickoff special this Thursday.
The roster still includes the Chicago-based rapper, who made waves Friday when he ignored the TelePrompTer and lashed out at the White House response to hurricane victims during NBC's live telethon, saying " George Bush doesn't care about black people."
The network edited out West's remark from the West Coast rebroadcast and hastily issued a press release that said that the "Gold Digger" rapper's "opinions in no way represent the views of the network."
West was asked several times to comment on his remarks at the NFL press conference, but declined to address the issue, saying that between the hurricane and the controversy, it created "a lot of pressure for one human being."
"I don't want to detract from the show at all, because it's entertainment, and a lot of times, in a time of need, we need entertainment to lift people's spirits," West added.
League spokesman Brian McCarthy, meanwhile, told the Los Angeles Times that West "expressed an unscripted opinion." Performers, McCarthy said, were selected "for their entertainment value, not their political views."
Steve Brener, a rep for the event, did not yet know what songs West is planning to perform during his "medley," aside from a version of "Heard 'Em Say," but it's a safe bet the Time magazine cover subject will not be performing the new track "Crack Music," in which he raps, "Who gave Saddam anthrax?/George Bush got the answers."
In any case, West's performance will be taped 20 minutes before the show comes on live, then will be edited into the telecast.
Some football fans are having an increasingly difficult time buying the league's position regarding halftime and preshow talent tapped by the NFL in its quest to lure increasingly a younger and more diverse demographic.
Last month, many pigskin faithful of the conservative ilk were outraged that the league was launching a campaign featuring the Rolling Stones, whose latest release, A Bigger Bang, features a scathing indictment of the Bush administration in the form of the track "Sweet Neo Con."
The Los Angeles Times suggested the league hasn't learned any lessons after suffering backlash in the wake of Janet Jackson's Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction" incident last year or Nicollette Sheridan's towel-dropping segment preceding a Monday Night Football game last November.
Perhaps it's easier for the NFL to back West now that the Grammy-winning artist is the hottest thing in music.
His new album, Late Registration, will top the charts with sales close to 900,000 when Nielsen SoundScan releases its weekly report Wednesday.
Aside from West, Good Charlotte, Rihanna and Maroon 5 will also play the Opening Kickoff special, which takes place at the Los Angeles Coliseum Thursday. The free event begins at 2:30 p.m. PT, with portions airing live and on tape during the 5-6 p.m. pregame on ABC. The season kicks off at 6 p.m. with the Oakland Raiders taking on the New England Patriots.
Meanwhile, West is putting his words into action regarding Hurricane Katrina. He will perform on BET's S.O.S. (Saving Ourselves) benefit on Friday and then join the Stones, Kelly Clarkson and Paul McCartney for the ReAct Now: Music & Relief special on MTV, VH1 and CMT this Saturday.
I never said his freedom of speech was being infringed upon. What I said is that many people would look at it that way if the NFL told him he was uninvited. Not to mention the financial nightmare of breaking a contract.
The man has already said he was just going to do his music, so why would you have to worry about his spouting off? And if just seeing him bothers you, change the channel. Or is your remote broken? There are, unfortunately, people in this country that either agree with him, or don't really care what he has to say, but still want to see him perform. What about their "right" to be entertained as promised in the promos?
i was sent FREE Tix to this event... i sent them back.... the event was to begin around 1:30pm PST....as of 5:21 PST... they still couldnt give all the tix away. ROFLMFAO!
kanye is a manufactured success. you put enough money behind an artist in promotion, you will see returns.
Tonight begins my official boycott of the NFL. Not that they care. Middle aged white guys is no longer the league's target demographic, Rolling Stones notwithstanding.
He has a song called "Jesus Walks." But then, inevitably, he raps about wanting a girl to strip.
That's probably because you don't listen to crap idiot music.
Never said you didn't.
My timing is generally impeccable and I get to my seats about five minutes to kickoff. I never watch a preshow.
It appears he was loudly booed by the Pat fans for the entire length of his performance. It was remote but the reaction was swift and LOUD! My faith in football and the fanbase is restored.
good luck... pepsi is owned by unilever who owns lipton tea who sponsors another abnoxious gorup, the dixie cowards, who also owns slim fast.. who sponsors yet another loud mouth, whoopi goldberg... i think they go out of their way to sponsor anti-bush idiots.
Yup - here's the response I received from Pepsi's consumer relations dept.
Thank you for your email regarding Kanye West and his remarks during a
recent televised benefit concert in New York.
The catastrophic events surrounding our country's worst natural disaster
in living memory have imposed a severe strain not only on those directly
involved, but also those watching from afar. It's not surprising that
emotions have run high in the immediate days following.
Many questions have arisen in the days since Hurricane Katrina struck the
Gulf Coast. President Bush has said himself that the nation's response
has been "unacceptable" and that we need to find out what went right and
what went wrong.
This has become a challenging and frustrating time for everyone, and
during the benefit, Mr. West made an emotional, impulsive statement. Now
he's focusing his energy on helping the affected citizens recover and
rebuild after this national disaster. Among other things, he plans to
visit the area to personally assist the people who have been affected by
Katrina.
At Pepsi, we're doing what we can, too. We are dedicated to working
directly with relief organizations and government agencies to provide
monetary assistance and food and beverage donations to people in need.
We fully appreciate your feelings in this matter and the sincerity with
which they have been expressed. The destruction wrought by Hurricane
Katrina and its aftermath will be subjected to serious debate for some
time to come and, in time, will be assessed with less passion and more
reflection.
In the meantime, the victims of this tragedy have to receive support and
care. That will require an extraordinary national commitment and we will
need to continue to do whatever we can to help.
Again, we thank you for taking the time to express your opinion and wish
that you will continue to do so.
With best regards,
Suzanne Gooley
Consumer Relations Representative
consumerrelations@cr.pepsi.com
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