Kanye West Explains His Shocking “Famous” Video: “Matthew Barney Is My Jesus”

Kanye West Explains His Shocking “Famous” Video: “Matthew Barney Is My Jesus”

Kanye West unveiled the video for his Taylor Swift-referencing The Life Of Pablo single “Famous” at a massive premiere event in Los Angeles last night. The clip depicts naked Taylor Swift, Bill Cosby, Caitlyn Jenner, Amber Rose, Ray J, Kim Kardashian, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Donald Trump, Anna Wintour, and George Bush all lying in bed with Kanye, and in a new interview with Vanity Fair, the rapper discusses the concept behind the visuals.

The film was shot over the course of three months with a number of different collaborators. In terms of inspiration, in addition to Vincent Desiderio’s painting Sleep, Kanye says that “Matthew Barney is my Jesus,” referring to the artist known for his use of living sculptures in works like The Cremaster Cycle. He reveals that “We were very careful with shots that had [something] sexual to take them out.”

West also discusses the celebrities included in the video. Following his infamous “BILL COSBY INNOCENT !!!!!!!!!!” tweet, was Kanye’s inclusion of Cosby an endorsement? “It’s not in support or anti any of [the people in the video],” Kanye says. “It’s a comment on fame.” And what about George Bush, who he famously accused of not caring about black people on live TV? “Maybe in some alternative universe me and George Bush could have been friends,” he says. “I could have been his O.J. Simpson black friend on the golf course.”

West concludes by saying that he has previewed the film for celebrity friends who don’t appear in it: “Guess what the response is when I show it to them. They want to be in the bed.”

He also tweeted this:

more from News