Kanye West is known for being an outspoken source of outrageous quotes, and it turns out he's no different under oath than he is on stage. TMZ has acquired a transcript of his deposition earlier this year following his attack of a paparazzo, and it's rife with quotable gems.
Yeezy had been charged with criminal battery and attempted grand theft after a run-in with photographer Daniel Ramos at LAX. He claimed during the deposition, "I'm the smartest celebrity you've ever fucking dealt with. I'm not Britney Spears." When asked where he lived, he said, "Earth."
Some more memorable comments came when he compared his situation as a celebrity to the U.S. civil rights movement. "I equate it to discrimination. I equate it to inequalities," he said. "We, as group of minorities here in L.A., as celebrities have to ban together to influence guys like this — guys trying to take the picture, guys trying to get the big win, guys trying to get the cheque."
The unrepentant rapper also told the photographer's lawyer, Nate Goldberg, "I'm in the business of trying to make dope shit for the world. You're in the business of representing scums and trying to make as much money as long as there's this lapse in the law."
He also took Goldberg to task when the lawyer quoted the anti-paparazzi lines from "Flashing Lights": "Till I get flashed by the paparazzi / Damn, these n***as got me." Kanye responded, "You have to ask for a hall pass. You can't just say the N-word around me." He added, "It offends me because you're a white person saying 'n***a.'"
In the end, Yeezy was sentenced to two years of probation, so apparently his defiance didn't help him to get off the hook.
Yeezy had been charged with criminal battery and attempted grand theft after a run-in with photographer Daniel Ramos at LAX. He claimed during the deposition, "I'm the smartest celebrity you've ever fucking dealt with. I'm not Britney Spears." When asked where he lived, he said, "Earth."
Some more memorable comments came when he compared his situation as a celebrity to the U.S. civil rights movement. "I equate it to discrimination. I equate it to inequalities," he said. "We, as group of minorities here in L.A., as celebrities have to ban together to influence guys like this — guys trying to take the picture, guys trying to get the big win, guys trying to get the cheque."
The unrepentant rapper also told the photographer's lawyer, Nate Goldberg, "I'm in the business of trying to make dope shit for the world. You're in the business of representing scums and trying to make as much money as long as there's this lapse in the law."
He also took Goldberg to task when the lawyer quoted the anti-paparazzi lines from "Flashing Lights": "Till I get flashed by the paparazzi / Damn, these n***as got me." Kanye responded, "You have to ask for a hall pass. You can't just say the N-word around me." He added, "It offends me because you're a white person saying 'n***a.'"
In the end, Yeezy was sentenced to two years of probation, so apparently his defiance didn't help him to get off the hook.
