Will George W. Bush Sue Kanye West Over The Controversial ‘Famous’ Video?
When George W. Bush was in office, he was known as the president you would most likely want to sit down and have a beer with. It went hand in hand with the sense of humor that President Bush projected, which, to some, made him a favorable candidate when he was elected into office in 2001 and again in 2004.
So, it isn’t surprising to find out that he cracked a joke about his image and likeness being used in a peculiar way for rapper Kanye West’s new controversial video “Famous.”
In the video, Kanye West tied figures in pop culture that he has been linked to in some way, shape or form, and decided to feature them naked. Inspired by the realist painter Vincent Desiderio’s “Sleep,” West’s video features friends, exes, bitter rivals, and other cultural figures all naked in bed together.
It’s said to recreate each likeness, he employed an artist that sculpted these famous nude figures out of wax. Some of these figures are Kim Kardashian, Caitlyn Jenner, Bill Cosby, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Anna Wintour, and of course George W. Bush.
Here’s a look at George W. Bush’s figure in the video “Famous.”
George W. Bush wants you to know he’s in better shape than his wax figure: https://t.co/BGVkFCFbFc pic.twitter.com/X0UWJjQmwF
— i-D (@i_D) June 28, 2016
Many are still waiting to see the lawsuits against Kanye West trickle in, but it’s safe to say that Mr. West won’t be receiving a lawsuit from former President Bush. The former president simply cracked a joke about his appearance in the video.
His communications director and personal aide told Billboard, “In case there was any doubt, I’ll state the obvious: That is not President Bush. He is in much better shape.”
Other artists didn’t exactly take their appearance in West’s “Famous” video in stride. Chris Brown commented, “Why I gotta have the plumbers butt/ crack showing WAX figure?”
George W. Bush responds to Kanye West’s “Famous” video: I’m in “much better shape” https://t.co/xnRpqJJ81x pic.twitter.com/nAtPQdWio0
— billboard (@billboard) June 27, 2016
Even West seemed bored by everyone’s reaction, as the rapper tweeted, but now deleted, “Can somebody sue me already?”
As for George W. Bush and Kanye West, their relationship has always been somewhat tumultuous. It all started during the 2005 charity/concert telecast for Hurricane Katrina, when West stood next to actor Mike Myers and went off script to criticize the way President Bush handled the disaster, as well as the media’s portrayal of African Americans in crises.
“I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, ‘They’re looting.’ You see a white family, it says, ‘They’re looking for food.’ And, you know, it’s been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people are black. And even for me to complain about it, I would be a hypocrite because I’ve tried to turn away from the TV because it’s too hard to watch.”
West continued, but the one sentence that got the most coverage was when the Chi-town rapper ended his lengthy statement with, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” After that, Kanye’s mic was cut out, but it was a criticism that lived with the president for years, and one that captured the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina.
Years later, President Bush called that moment a low point of his presidency.
In his book he writes, “I faced a lot of criticism as president. I didn’t like hearing people claim that I lied about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction or cut taxes to benefit the rich. But the suggestion that I was racist because of the response to Katrina represented an all-time low.”
President Bush told Matt Lauer of the TODAY show while promoting his book, “He called me a racist. And I didn’t appreciate it then. I don’t appreciate it now. It’s one thing to say, ‘I don’t appreciate the way he’s handled his business.’ It’s another thing to say, ‘This man’s a racist.’ I resent it, it’s not true.”
Do you think anyone will sue Kanye West for his new music video?
[Photo by Pete Marovich/Getty Images]
