Obama Calls Kanye West 'Jackass' Again

Obama Calls Kanye A 'Jackass' Again

More than two years after President Obama skewered Kanye West for stealing Taylor Swift's thunder, he's still calling the rapper a "jackass."

In the May issue of The Atlantic, the president says he prefers Jay-Z over Kanye:

“Although I like Kanye,” Obama continues, with an easy smile. “He’s a Chicago guy. Smart. He’s very talented.” He is displaying his larger awareness of the question, looking relaxed, cerebral but friendly, alive to the moment, waiting for me to get to the heart of the matter.

“Even though you called him a jackass?,” I ask.

“He is a jackass,” Obama says, in his likable and perfectly balanced modern-professorial voice. “But he’s talented.”

When Kanye interrupted Swift's acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Obama called him a "jackass" in a CNBC interview.

"I thought that was really inappropriate. You know it was like she's getting an award -- why are you butting in?" he said. "The young lady seems like a perfectly nice person. She's getting her award. What's he doing up there? He's a jackass."

Before You Go

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot