Despite officially becoming a billionaire in 2020, Kanye West has told paparazzi that they should pay him a commission for photos of him.
West was spotted by photographers at Miami airport on Saturday, and told the paps that he believes that he believes he should get a cut of their profits.
“Y’all gon’ give me a percentage. Mark my words,” Kanye said. “Right now y’all get to shoot us without having to pay. I’mma change that. I’m not saying it in a negative way. It’s just like, right now, it’s just really one-sided. You guys can follow us, you guys can stand out in front of [our] hotel at any given time—you don’t give us any percentage of what you’re making off of us, off of our kids, and I’m gonna change that.”
Mid way through the interaction, West explained that he believes that he can make money with the paps.
“My image is a part of something I should get paid on,” Kanye continued. “We all gotta make money together. It’s more people in the world, it’s more money in the world. Let’s all make money together. It can’t be a one-sided thing. That when it feels, like, vulture like,” he said. “Look, if I’m just with my kids, I say I don’t want you to shoot me, then that’s just something y’all gotta respect as a man. ‘Cause can get that money together, but we gotta have a conversation.”
Staying unusually level headed, the billionaire explained that his dad used to work as a photographer.
“I respect your job. My dad was a photographer at a newspaper,” Kanye added. “But as Americans, we gotta respect each other. We gotta bring the pride back to this country.”
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The rappers net worth is estimated to currently be around $1.8 billion USD (approximately $251 billion AUD). A single paparazzi shot of West can sell for well over $10,000.
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