Kanye West’s Controversial Comments About Rihanna and Chris Brown Edited Out of Interview
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In 2009, Rihanna experienced physical abuse at the hands of her then-boyfriend, Chris Brown, following a heated argument that left her with multiple injuries, including a bruised face and a split lip. Brown was subsequently charged with felony assault and pleaded guilty. Years later, Kanye West stirred controversy by seemingly taking Brown’s side and blaming Rihanna for the violence.
According to The Wrap, while appearing on Netflix’s My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, West allegedly commented, “Chris Brown’s career is basically over and you have Rihanna and everyone took her side.” He added, “She must have done something to merit what happened to her.”
Noah Reich and David Maldonado, audience members from Los Angeles present during the taping, claimed that these remarks, along with West’s controversial views on the #MeToo movement and other right-wing conspiracy theories, were not included in the final edited version of the interview. They reported that West also criticized liberals, claiming they treated anyone wearing a red MAGA hat, a symbol associated with Donald Trump, “like they were Nazis.”
“It was shocking to see that Kanye West could share harmful alt-right beliefs, conspiracy theories, and misogynistic beliefs about women for the majority of the interview and end up with an edit that removed all those items in favor of celebrity fluff content,” Reich expressed.
Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants, Inc., later released a statement clarifying that the series is an “edited conversation show” filmed over two days, with over five hours of footage condensed into a 55-minute episode. The statement noted, “Nearly four years ago, in an interview for ‘My Next Guest,’ Kanye West discussed a wide range of topics with David Letterman, including family, fatherhood, music, and creativity.
Kanye also told Dave that he had just been diagnosed with bipolar disorder six months earlier, which led to a personal discussion about mental illness, its stigma, and treatment.” The company acknowledged that West made offensive remarks about the #MeToo movement and other topics during the interview, but emphasized that the final show reflected these points, with Letterman challenging West on them.
Meanwhile, according to Harper’s Bazaar, Chris Brown faced backlash in 2017 from women’s groups for comments he made in a documentary, where he seemed to blame Rihanna for the assault, claiming he was compelled to bite, punch, and force her against a car window after she allegedly mistreated him during a Grammy Awards ceremony. The controversy surrounding both West’s and Brown’s comments highlights the ongoing scrutiny of how public figures discuss and address issues of violence and abuse, particularly against women.
