Kanye West has been charged for attacking a paparazzo at LAX in July.
The 36-year-old rapper was charged with criminal battery and attempted grand theft for the July 19 incident. West told the “especially aggressive” photographer that he said not to talk to him, and that he was trying to get him in trouble. West then tries to grab the camera from the paparazzo (while other photographers snap away) and wrestles him to the ground. The man went to the hospital after the incident, and hired Gloria Allred as his lawyer, who claimed that he was badly injured.
However, prosecutors said it was unclear if the camera equipment suffered any significant damage, and that the photographer was not injured. Since West doesn’t have a felony record and did not have a weapon at the time of the attack, he was able to avoid felony charges .
If convicted of both misdemeanors, Kanye West faces a maximum of one year in jail. He will be arraigned October 10.
Last week, the “Black Skinheads” rapper announced that he would be going on tour with Kendrick Lamar . The 23-show North American tour kicks off on October 19 at Seattle’s KeyArena and runs through December 7 at Houston’s Toyota Center. Lamar won’t play every show, however, but will make 18 appearances. The other five shows will feature special guests to be announced.
Kanye West’s last solo tour was the 2008 “Glow in the Dark” tour, which ran from April 16 to December 7. The tour featured Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D., and Nas. There were also surprise appearances from Jay Z, Gnarls Barkley.
West was supposed to co-headline the “Fame Kills” tour with Lady Gaga the following year, but it was canceled following the backlash from West’s interruption of Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards. Lady Gaga went on to do her own “Monster Ball” tour, and West co-headlined the “Watch the Throne” tour with Jay Z.
