Former CNN host Don Lemon has criticised Kanye West following confusion surrounding he and his wife Bianca Censori’s nudity stunt at the Grammys.
The controversial rapper, 47, made headlines at the awards show after he and Censori appeared on the red carpet, with his spouse wearing a transparent dress. Rumours soon began circulating that the pair were escorted out of the ceremony but this was disputed, with some claiming they left of their own accord.
In response to the speculation, West lashed out at former CNN host Don Lemon, claiming that the broadcaster spread a story that he and Censori were ejected from the Grammys. In a since deleted Instagram post, West wrote: “This the goofball that started the rumour that me and my wife got kicked out the Grammies. 3 decades of innovating music and they always koons like this.”
Lemon has since denied starting the viral rumour. The 58-year-old shared a video on Instagram in response, stating: “First of all, Kanye, Ye – whatever your name is – I did not start a rumour about you being kicked out of the Grammys. I actually corrected it. I saw someone on your team who asked me to correct it because it had been reported everywhere.”
He added: “So first of all, get your s** straight. And you, of all people, calling me a coon. That ‘Make America Great Again’ hat must be too tight on your head.”
It appears that West’s outburst at Lemon was due to the news presenter saying in a previous Instagram video that the rapper “wasn’t invited” to the Grammys and that “maybe he was escorted out”.
“That’s what folks are saying, but I’m not sure,” Lemon continued. “I think maybe he just wanted to do the carpet, but he definitely is gone. I may be the only person who interviewed him, by the way.”
Kanye West and Bianca Censori attend the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards (Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
The couple’s rare public appearance came after Ye’s since-deleted sexualised tweet about former Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday (1 February).
“I used to want to f*** Kamala until she lost. I don’t f*** losers anymore,” Ye posted to X.
He later apologised to Harris’s children, Cole and Ella, writing on X: “Kamala seems like a very nice human. I just wanna say sorry to her kids.”
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West and Censori met in 2020 when the model was working for Yeezy as the company’s architectural designer. At the time, West was still married to Kim Kardashian, with whom he shares four children – North, 11, Saint, nine, Chicago, seven, and Psalm, five.
The Skims founder filed for divorce from West in 2021 and was later declared “legally single” before their split was finalised. Kardashian and West officially divorced in November 2022 after months of court proceedings.
The rapper reportedly married Censori in a secret ceremony in December 2022 – the same month he released the track “Censori Overload”.
