Kanye West Vs. Paparazzo: Rapper Turns Soft On Paparazzo, Says His Dad Was One Of Them
Kanye West is known for his one liners, often called "Kanyeisms," but now that rapper has gone one step ahead and made a declaration that his dad was once a paparazzo. The admission from the "Yeezus" rapper came during the deposition of a lawsuit between paparazzi photographer Daniel Ramos and Kanye West.
West has been famous for not displaying a very good behaviour towards paparazzi and has also been involved in a civil lawsuit in this regard. In July 2013, West was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with paparazzi photographer Daniel Ramos at Los Angeles airport. The rapper pleaded no contest to the civil lawsuit.
In his statement, West maintains that he did not hit Daniel but merely tried to stop his camera. In the process, the photographer fell down and faked his assault, West said. West even tried his best to make an emotional connect with the paparazzi by saying he is one of them.
During the deposition of the civil lawsuit, Kim Kardashian's husband revealed to Ramos' lawyer, Nate Goldberg, that his father was also someone like Daniel -- a paparazzo -- and he has not been brought up to hate them.
"My father was a paparazzo himself. My father was a medical illustrator, a Black Panther, a Christian marriage counselor," revealed the rapper, according to Daily Mail. Kanye's talks about paparazzi did not end there. He went on to explain how paparazzi photographers have actually been a great help to him, as they have helped him follow the traffic rules.
"The paparazzi watch my car and makes sure that cops don't give me tickets. There are some nice guys out here trying to just feed their family," added the rapper.
A little research has revealed that Kanye West's father Ray West was quite respected in his field of photojournalism. He was the first black photojournalist employed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. AJC even has a stunning photo gallery of Ray's pictures, which can be seen here.
Though Kanye called his dad a "paparazzo," the subjects of Ray's pictures are not Hollywood celebrities, but common people. There is no way the pictures have any similarity to the usual pictures taken by today's paparazzi.
West was sentenced in March 2014 to two years of probation, 24 anger management therapy sessions and 250 hours of community service following this incident.