Kanye West Confronts Paparazzi, Says He Wants Cut of Their Money

Kanye West has been a constant target of the paparazzi throughout the years and now he wants in on the revenue they are making off him.

Ye was spotted at the Miami airport on Saturday (Jan. 22), by TMZ. The recording artist initially told the cameraman he didn’t want to be filmed before giving the guy a lecture about changing the dynamic of his interactions with paparazzi to be beneficial monetarily to both parties.

“Y’all gon’ give me a percentage. Mark my words,” Kanye told the man. “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.”

Unlike some interactions between Kanye and the paps, the Donda rapper mostly maintained his cool throughout the talk as he spelled out his plan. “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.”

Kanye then brought up his recent altercation with an autograph seeker, claiming the guy was not a fan but an opportunist trying to make a profit off Kanye’s name. “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.”

Check out Kanye’s lecture below.