Kanye: Paparazzi Aren't Innocent Victims

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(Nov. 17) - Kanye West, who was briefly arrested and subsequently released Thursday night for a tangle with the paparazzi, states the scuffle was in self-defense. "I am protecting my personal space [because] there are no laws to protect that for me," West said. "The fact that he could get me arrested off a mere complaint, but I can't ask him to stop taking pictures of me is very lopsided."

West took the battle to his blog in a entry titled: WHO'S WINNING, ME OR THE MEDIA?

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Kanye Mr. Humble' West

"Can't we give Chris a break? ... I know I make mistakes in life." -- on Chris Brown's alleged assault on Rihanna, and the media coverage surrounding it

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"Please i beg you, give me a break!!!!! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let me be great!!! Who have i hurt so bad that they want to destroy me? Who have i ever spoke about so negatively? I just was speaking with our new president two days ago... And now this." -- disputing a false quote alleging he'd do bisexual porn

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"I believe I am the greatest entertainer of this generation. I go neck-and-neck on Jay-Z and [Lil] Wayne as far as who's the best lyricist," Kanye West said in VIBE magazine's February issue.

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"I am protecting my personal space since there are no laws to protect that for me," West said. "The fact that [a photographer] could get me arrested off a mere complaint, but I can't ask him to stop taking pictures of me is very lopsided." -- defending his recent scuffle with the paparazzi

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"There were people who had the potential to do it but they went on vacation, so when Justin [Timberlake] went on vacation I made albums, and it just came out to be that." -- on Timberlake's supposed failure to become music's top dog due to a lack of new albums.

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"I realize that my place and position in history is that I will go down as the voice of this generation, of this decade, I will be the loudest voice." -- quote from a Nov. 12 interview.

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"It's me settling into that position of just really accepting that it's one thing to say you want to do it and it's another thing to really end up being like Michael Jordan." -- quote from a Nov. 12 interview.

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"If I was more complacent and I let things slide, my life would be easier, but you all wouldn't be as entertained. My misery is your pleasure."-- quote from a 2006 Rolling Stone interview

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"We were obviously dealing with f------ idiots who didn't really have the capacity to really put on this show properly. They tried 2 give me a time slot were it was still light outside. I have a f------ light show dumb a---, it's not called glow in the dark for no reason squid brains." -- blaming the organizers for Bonnaroo problems.

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"Oh hell no! This video cost a million dollars! I had Pam Anderson, I'm jumping across canyons and s---! If I don't win, the awards show loses credibility." -- on losing at the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards

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West tells his side of the story, stating he put his hand over the camera of a "thirsty paparazzi" who felt "he had more rights to my space."

"I guess in the commotion the camera scraped his nose," West said.

Three hours later, police showed up to West's hotel room to speak with him about a complaint that was filed. They places West in handcuffs and took him to the station. Even though he wasn't charged, West said, "the damage was already done," as tons of paparazzi flooded the area around his hotel awaiting a shot of him exiting the police van. West says he has had enough of being cited as the "bad guy" when the paparazzi invade his space.

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Kanye West Snapshots

(HIGHER RATES; NO TABLOIDS;ITALY OUT) Kid Rock, Bono and Kanye West pose Backstage the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards held at at the Echo Arena on November 6, 2008 in Liverpool, England.

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(ITALY OUT) Rapper Kanye West backstage at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards held at at the Echo Arena on November 6, 2008 in Liverpool, England.

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(HIGHER RATES; NO TABLOIDS) Kanye West performs at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards held at at the Echo Arena on November 6, 2008 in Liverpool, England.

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(HIGHER RATES; NO TABLOIDS) Kanye West and Estelle performs at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards held at at the Echo Arena on November 6, 2008 in Liverpool, England.

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Kanye West and Estelle pose Backstage at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards held at at the Echo Arena on November 6, 2008 in Liverpool, England.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com

(HIGHER RATES; NO TABLOIDS) Kanye West performs at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards held at at the Echo Arena on November 6, 2008 in Liverpool, England.

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Singr Estelle and rapper Kanye West on stage during the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards held at at the Echo Arena on November 6, 2008 in Liverpool, England.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com

Kanye West performs at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards held at at the Echo Arena on November 6, 2008 in Liverpool, England.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com

Kanye West performs at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards held at at the Echo Arena on November 6, 2008 in Liverpool, England.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com

(HIGHER RATES; NO TABLOIDS) Estelle and Kanye West perform at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards held at at the Echo Arena on November 6, 2008 in Liverpool, England.

Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

"Paparazzi give real photographers a bad name. A picture is worth a thousand words, theirs are worth a thousand dollars," West writes.

"Let us not forget the paps killed Princess Diana. When will there be a law passed that simply enforces that someone has to ask to take a photograph of you. That would seem like common courtesy. Right now, the paps are above the law and that people that they shoot are below it. What should be illegal is pictures taken with the intent to sell... like drugs with the intent to sell," West continues.

While he thinks red carpet events are a legitimate means of getting celebrity photographs, he thinks the problem is the constant chasing and digressive nature photographers use to capture celebrities being "normal," he said.

"The personal problem I have with the paps is when they try to catch you being a regular person. I am not a celebrity. I'm a normal person that's just famous. I refuse to sneak in and out of back doors and kitchens of hotels," he writes. "I put my hand up to the camera in self defense!"

2008-11-17 11:36:52

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