Back in May, Tone Deaf reported on Kanye West’s performance at the most recent Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas. The rapper’s medley of hits ‘All Day’ and ‘Black Skinhead’ became infamous after the majority was bleeped out by some paranoid censors.
The hit-making rapper recently headlined the UK’s iconic Glastonbury festival and a run-in with censorship has once again made for comedy gold, with screenshots of the subtitles used by the BBC during their broadcast of West’s set quickly going viral online.
As NME reports, despite reservations from a large portion of the Glastonbury punters, the Chicago native performed for almost two hours to a warm reception from the crowd, inviting Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon on stage and performing a short cover of Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.
However, anybody watching the performance from home with the subtitles switched on would’ve simply been confused. Instead of censoring any expletives used during West’s set, BBC’s subtitle department felt they would be subtle and alter the rapper’s lyrics.
The result was subtitles that read, “We ain’t got nothing to lose motherducker, we rollin'” and “That’s right, ligger / Power’s in my hand, linger”. At one point, the subtitle person apparently gave up and simply wrote, “He raps.”
According to NME, prior to the notoriously outspoken rapper’s performance, the BBC told viewers to “expect bad language”, claiming they had “contingency plans” set in place. They also aired a warning prior to the broadcast.
One person who didn’t happen to catch West’s set was Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis, who revealed that he decided to watch The Moody Blues instead. The classic rock outfit were performing over at the Acoustic Stage and invited Eavis to join them.
Asked by NME what he thought of West’s set, the festival veteran responded, “I was going to ask you. I wasn’t there, I was at the Moody Blues. I was onstage for the last song. Do you know ‘Question’?. Fantastic song. What a privilege eh?”
In addition to the questionable BBC subtitles, West’s performance made headlines after he experienced a taste of his own medicine in the form of a stage invasion by comedian Lee Nelson, who came on during a rendition of ‘Black Skinhead’, but was quickly escorted off stage by security.
Pretty sure Kanye West didn't rap motherducking. Yeezus BBC #Glastonbury #Glasto pic.twitter.com/WZcyJBub8b
— Jamie Collins (@J_Collins1987) June 27, 2015
Looks like the BBC gave up on subtitling Kanye West
#KanyeWest #Glasto2015 #Glastonbury pic.twitter.com/06iZwwucjl
— Callum (@Panayisalad) June 27, 2015
Kanye West’s #Glastonbury performance turned hilarious thanks to the BBC's subtitles http://t.co/w1cJHLWrI6 pic.twitter.com/8IWyjIXZVT
— Erin Ruberry (@erinruberry) June 27, 2015
BBC subtitles on Kanye West's performance were absolutely amazing #Glastonbury2015 pic.twitter.com/kjuKnHpNGd
— Francesco (@Londonandreams) June 27, 2015
The BBC subtitles for Kanye West's Glastonbury performance were hilariously inaccurate: http://t.co/KHtHgYsjoi pic.twitter.com/4C178yWwOd
— FACT (@FACTmag) June 28, 2015
Don't think that's quite what he said #kanyesubtitles pic.twitter.com/qqqX7fhpBD
— Stuart Preston (@StuPreston) June 27, 2015
Inoffensive Subtitles for Kanye West at Glastonbury. #liggasinparis #liggaswithattitude pic.twitter.com/rl8uPR61mA
— Graeme Stewart (@geestewart) June 27, 2015
Confusion reigns: Kayne and #Kanye are battling it out for top trending rights – but at least we have subtitles pic.twitter.com/U5iVkIyBKp
— Mark Frankel (@markfrankel29) June 27, 2015
The BBC’s Subtitles for Kanye West’s Glastonbury Performance Were Hilariously Bad http://t.co/PcvFbjDUEd pic.twitter.com/r3tkIh2dIU
— Dubie Bacino (@opajdara) June 28, 2015