Kanye West, never one to shy away from expressing his opinions, has accused the U.S. government of forsaking its black population at Friday?s ?A Concert for Hurricane Relief.?

The rapper declared that ?George Bush doesn?t care about black people? during a 90-second segment he did with comedian Mike Myers on the celebrity telethon for Hurricane Katrina survivors. West surprised everyone when he went off script on the special, which aired live on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, and Pax.

The segment began with Myers speaking about the devastation Katrina has left in the U.S. south. Then, West began ranting, ?I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they’re looting. See a white family, it says they’re looking for food.?

He continued by saying America was set up “to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible,” though he did commend the Red Cross for ?doing everything they can.?

After the broadcast, NBC issued a statement saying, “Kanye West departed from the scripted comments that were prepared for him, and his opinions in no way represent the views of the networks.

“It would be most unfortunate,” the statement continued, “if the efforts of the artists who participated tonight and the generosity of millions of Americans who are helping those in need are overshadowed by one person’s opinion.”

While there was a several-second tape delay on the broadcast, it was set up to catch curse words and the technician in charge was unaware that West had gone off-script, said NBC spokesperson Rebecca Marks.

West’s comment about the president was cut from NBC’s west coast airing, which showed three hours later on tape.

This is not the first time West has had an emotional outburst on national television. Those at this year?s American Music Awards will remember West angrily going off after he was snubbed for an award.






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