The Apology Tour starring Kanye West hit up its third stop last night during the premiere of the new Jay Leno show. Ye had been scheduled to perform with Rihanna and Jay-Z long ago, but in light of the public relations nightmare that was the VMAs mic snatch, Kanye had to address it in a brief sitdown with Jay before performing.
Kanye, who looked like a dog with his tail between his legs, kept his head down during most of interview and spoke softly. You can tell that the backlash has been tortuous for him and the weight of the public outrage is crushing. Jay asked him when he realized that what he'd done was wrong, and Kanye replied, "As soon as I gave the mic back to her and she didn't keep going..." And he's right. The moment it all went down hill is when he jabbed the mic back in Taylor's hand and she stood on stage with her face like a wounded kitten.
Unlike many of Kanye's counterparts, *cough*ChrisBrown*cough* Kanye makes no excuses for his behavior, taking full responsibility and calling it flat-out "rude." He also promises to reflect on his behavior and try to wrestle with his demons.
The public's anger is understandable and contradictory at the same time. When Chris rained blows on Rihanna with his fists on that fateful February night, the outcries for forgiveness and to withhold judgment were deafening. "He's just a kid!" they said. "How long will Chris have to pay for one mistake?" they said. When celebrities were queried about the blatant case of domestic violence at the hands of the "With You" singer, all of them were demure and declined to comment, offering some variation of "I can't judge him." But Kanye? Every celebrity and their mother hurled stones at him in the press and on Twitter. Why does Chris deserve forgiveness for assaulting a woman, but Kanye deserves to be blacklisted from the entertainment industry for what was essentially, a sophomoric stunt gone wrong?
Most likely this apology will be enough to quell the backlash and begin to put Kanye on the road to recovery in the court of public opinion. But already racist undertones in the tsunami of criticism have revealed themselves, leading some to wonder if the outrage in response to Kanye isn't more a reaction to an Emmett Till offense.
Kanye deserves to held accountable for his behavior, but the lynch mob being set on him is showing the potential to morph into something far more sinister.
