When Kanye West Stopped his Concert Midway, Yelled at a Kid in A Wheelchair: "Stand Up"
Kanye West is one of the most controversial musical talents in the entertainment industry. Famously known for being Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband, West has often been in the limelight since his debut as a rapper. The American Boy singer has in the past been noted for his antisemitic comments as per Forbes which in turn resulted in major brands such as Adidas ending their endorsements with him as per Vulture. There are many moments in the past where West may have been possibly oblivious to certain situations given he doesn’t mince his words when it comes to stating an opinion. One such time was back in 2014 when the rapper reportedly yelled at a child who was in a wheelchair in the middle of his concert, stopping the event in its tracks.
According to a 2014 article by The Daily Beast, West once halted a weekend concert because the crowd allegedly didn’t stand up while West was performing. At the Qantas Credit Union Arena located in Sydney, Australia, a concert that was supposed to be about rocking it out with some good old fashion rap followed by groovy beats, and a raging crowd, turned out to be quite an awkward turn of events. Amid all of this, West shouted out in disappointment, “I can’t do this song.” He continued to explain, “I can’t do this show until everybody stands up…”
At this juncture, he proceeded to highlight exceptions of people whom he claimed to excuse based on a set of conditions. “Unless you got a handicap pass and you get special parking and s***,” said the rapper. He adds while claiming to note that he was being rather observant of fans in the crowd and was especially paying attention to anyone he claimed to see wasn’t standing. “I'mma see you if you ain’t standing up, believe me, I’m very good at that.” While West might’ve proceeded to perform rapping away, out of the corner of his eye he spotted a few fans who were seated despite his request for people to stand.
Taking sharp notice of those two, he brought his concert to an abrupt halt understandably leaving concertgoers perplexed and irritated. West began to eagerly urge the two to stand up and refused to budge otherwise. Finally after a brief moment, one of the two seated fans showed West a prosthetic limb to signal that she indeed possessed the handicap pass. After he saw the said limb, he seemed to be at ease and said, “Okay, you fine.” But, he now seemed to demand an answer or perhaps an explanation from the other fan seated right next to the prior one.
As per sources, West was in the middle of performing his hit song The Good Life; he halted and said in exasperation, “This is the longest I’ve had to wait to do a song. It’s unbelievable.” However, what he remained completely oblivious to was the hint the crowd surrounding the seated fan was trying to give him. West who seemed slightly agitated went on to send his bodyguard at the time - Pascal Duvier to the crowd to inspect the situation. After Duvier confirmed that the fan was in a wheelchair, West said, “He is in a wheelchair? It’s fine.” The show did go on even though there were some bumps with West receiving some major backlash after.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on November 11, 2023. It has since been updated.
