The Reasons Behind Kanye West's Furious SNL Rant Explained

In a month that has seen him release his long-awaited and critically acclaimed seventh studio album, conquer Madison Square Garden with Yeezy Season 3, plead with Mark Zuckerberg to invest in his ideas and defend accused sex criminal Bill Cosby, Kanye West has rarely been away from the headlines. After audio of a foul-mouthed Ye rant backstage at Saturday Night Live leaked earlier this week, Kanye’s camp have been keen to explain the reasoning behind the rapper’s ire this time around. “He did NOT yell at SNL staff” explained a source close to West to HYPEBEAST, “This audio was secretly recorded while he was venting his frustration in a private moment with his team. He found out his stage design was changed and taken apart under the direction of the show’s lighting director without anyone’s approval. He had spent an entire day rehearsing and a lot of hard work into the performance. Dramatic set changes were made 30 minutes before going live. It should be understandable why he was upset after being completely blindsided.”

The source added that “later in the evening, after everything was fix and following his performance – Kanye was seen hugging Lorne Michaels just before the goodnights and he stayed afterwards to chat with the staff and the cast, and thanked the producers on his way out the door.” No explanation for branding Taylor Swift “fake-ass” has yet to be offered by the source, and it would appear that Kanye’s ego continues to be his “number one enemy.”