Kanye West Slams Billboard Music Awards for ‘Ridiculous,’ ‘Unwarranted’ Censorship During Performance

“Non-profane lyrics such as ‘with my leather black jeans on’ were muted for over 30-second intervals,” West’s representative says in a statement

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Kanye West’s performance at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday was one of the buzziest moments of the night, and he’s not happy that it was “grossly over-censored.”

In a statement released by his representatives, the rapper said the muting of his lyrics while performing “All Day” and “Black Skinhead” was “ridiculous” and “unwarranted.”

“Kanye West was grossly over-censored at the Billboard Music Awards. Non-profane lyrics such as ‘with my leather black jeans on’ were muted for over 30 second intervals,” the statement reads. “As a result, his voice and performance were seriously misrepresented. It is ridiculous that in 2015 unwarranted censorship is something that artists still have to fight against.”

“Although West was clearly set up to face elements beyond his control during the live broadcast, he would like to apologize to the television audience who were unable to enjoy the performance the way he envisioned,” the statement concludes.

According to TMZ, West never did a dress rehearsal of the song, and producers — expecting clean versions of the songs fit for national TV — were caught off guard by how many expletives he dropped while on stage surrounded by flames.

“He’s Kanye. What are we supposed to do?” a production source told the entertainment news outlet.

Dick Clark Productions, producer of the event, did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.

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