Harvey Levin and Van Lathan Recap Kanye’s TMZ Takeover | TMZ

58 Comments

1. Van ..could you now please bring all of TMZ up to a similar level of intelligence.May take a miracle.Thanks.

   • The affects of PTSD, can be passed on to Children… Psychological Abuse comes in many forms.. You can’t put a band-aid it.. Systematically, humans are damaged by Evil Forces. Stockholm’s Syndrome is a mechanism used to relieve suffering. Fear, Shame, Chaos & Despair keeps many from full potential in life.. Peace!

     He has never experienced the Horrific effects of Slavery, so how can he just White Wash it like that… Peace..!!!

   • I’ve never seen this till this Kanye headline. But I already find Harvey overbearing and think Van is much more articulate and relaxed 🤣 shut up Harvey!!

   • van is gonna have his own reality tv now lol

   • H Kay would you please read my comment and reply on it as respectfully and honestly as you can? I like to talk to intelligent people. I don’t get to very often.

   • PUT WEST IN THE HOOD AND LETS SEE IF HE FEEL`S THE SAME. I DONT THINK SO SEND HIM TO LEON VALLEY POLICE STATION.WITH A CAMERA . HIS GONNA GET TORTURE BY THEM DIRTY COPS.

2. A surprisingly intelligent nuanced conversation. Very rare in the midst of all the current click bait hysteria.

   • YO FR 😂😂👏

   • GO BACK AND LISTEN TO “KANYE WEST – NEW SLAVES.” THIS MAN IS NOT CRAZY. HE IS TRYING TO START A REVOLUTION BUT WE’RE ALL TO BLIND AND ANGRY TO SEE IT.

   • Rod Fvae No we dont know what it it’s like in those times but we still are feeling the impact from then to now. If we fail to know our history then we are ignorant….and if we continue to talk about our history we’re stuck in the past? How? Our history isn’t all glitter and gold… How are we expected to just forget about what was done to our ancestors? If we do that then there’s no accountability for those who still think with the mindset of those slave/plantation owners.

     That mindset hasn’t been terminated …so how can we just move on? As an individual I assert myself and walk in confidence as a strong successful Melanated Male but why do I feel tension when I walk by officers through out my city and community. There’s no open relationship I don’t make eyecontact I don’t greet them they don’t greet me…why? The Conditioning! The wound is still being poked at because of the unjust things that we endure from the colonizers offspring. I already feel like I’m being labeled and judged. If an individual just sees me for the first time with or with out glasses in or out of a suit there’s a preconceived perception formed of me. If i did decide to wear all black with a hoodie instead of a suit am I not still the same successful male that I am when you see me in a suit. Nope because due to poor representation in media your perception tells you that I’m up to no good and that I’m a threat. So I then go out my way to cross the street at night in my own neighborhood to not incite fear or concern in the streets where I walked freely before you moved in.

     American history to boot isn’t pretty so while those who may have murdered, raped, abused and tormented the slaves and the indigenous on this land we call America…As inflicters they may have had sleepless nights from the cries and screams of those they mistreated and upon their death the lineage and offspring inherited the wealth, resouce, land, and opprtunites that was built of off the backs of those who have been overworked, misused and mistreated.

     Shouldn’t that generation if they truly don’t agree with what was done for them to have what they have look to atone or wash their hands of the blood stained inheritance. They didn’t work for it….they had it handed to them meanwhile our ancestors received what? (A slap in the face)…they were free but knew nothing else so went back to work in the same conditions for little pay.

     Me knowing my history and seeing the affects and listening to people’s ignorance makes it difficult to move on. There’s so much information available for you to know about our constant intentional opposition. It’s no coincidence that the ignorant speak on what they don’t understand.

     Do some research on the things we are upset over and discover that those same methods of treatment have only been repackaged and asserted in other areas applicable.

   • 666

   • PUT WEST IN THE HOOD AND LETS SEE IF HE FEEL`S THE SAME. I DONT THINK SO SEND HIM TO LEON VALLEY POLICE STATION.WITH A CAMERA . HIS GONNA GET TORTURE BY THEM DIRTY COPS.

3. Van you have my attention and respect.

   • Marlon Keesee it’s almost like your giving him a pass for being at tmz

4. Yet the entire existence of TMZ is to exploit celebrities for profit. Just think about that folks…

   • Lisa K thank you… may the world all see that

   • TMZ did not make Kanye West say those things tho

   • JayGreyhood exactly

   • JayGreyhood Slavery was for 246 years in America. It ended in 1865. Now we in 2018. Lets do the maths, 2018-1865= 153 years. Now add 153 to 246. You get 404 years. There you have it. He was referring to slavery of the mind till today.

   • JayGreyhood so gotta get coin some how.

5. Everything looks like a choice when you sit in a position of power and wealth.

   • @gidkideon, that is a more current example and I agree with you so much. See this is the kind of commentary I crave to hear online. Well said!

   • …and I’m not saying rebellions don’t make sense or can’t work, but let’s use our brains here and think about the logistics of when it has a snowball’s chance in hell vs. none at all. Besides, there was a “rebellion” in a sense and it’s called “the war of Northern aggression” by some. It took that many trained and armed soldiers by the Northern states to just “free” the slaves from plantation work and their oppressors. What makes you think a fractured group of enslaved people, with no training and few advantages sans body count could do the same or better? Wining the Civil war was the “easier” part though to this story. Just like it was “easy” to win the war in Iraq, it’s what comes after the war that’s the hard part. If the slaves had rebelled and succeeded (highly unlikely) there would still be all the same work and issues afterward that we’re still dealing with today.

   • You are too stuck to the word BLACK as still slavery age as matter fact you don’t even feel being a slave your ancestors were. You are living NOW. You are an American. You have lots of privileges being an American. If you are still feel like a slave right now. You are mentally enslave. You will live like that for the rest of your life if you don’t change your way of thinking and you will pass that for generations or hundreds of years.

   • Sure, that could help, but only if every racist person actively A) recognized they were racist B) continues to do something about it C) teach their children and friends not to be racist and D) tries to dismantle institutional positions of power born out of racism/slavery. Then we might have the beginnings of something closer to a reality where the echos of slavery and racism are “all just in your head” as you basically put it (we’d be ignoring a lot of research on multi-generational income inequality though too). Else you’re just telling suppressed folks it’s all in their head, and to ignore the real factors oppressing them and keeping your ideal from ever being a reality. Fact is, I don’t see your idealistic dream coming true anytime soon at the rate this and many other countries are going in terms of dealing with racism.

   • I’m not saying people shouldn’t still strive to do their best for themselves, their communities, and their children etc. I’m not saying people should just feel like victims with no power. Life isn’t fair. It’s a fact. But don’t ignore where it isn’t fair like some blind idiot. You have to know where the traps are, where the battles worth fighting are, and what the honest limitations are if you’re going to make the best use of your situation. Else you’re just day dreaming that if you pretend there are no limitations, the world is your oyster. Saying or thinking something doesn’t make it so, and doesn’t change facts.

6. Slavery in the US (note: slavery has existed since the dawn of man and still exists today) started 400 years ago, but ended 153 years ago. Kanye said at some point it’s a choice. The choice is whether to still let it impact your life even though it’s been gone for that long.

7. Kanye West didn’t necessarily believe slavery was a choice. The problem comes when he can’t articulate what he actually means. Many people are saying they obviously get what he was trying to say but there are also many who don’t get it as well. I’m happy that people keep challenging him about his views because he needs to articulate it correctly. If not, it does set a dangerous precedent that many including Donald Trump’s platform will exploit. Go Van!

   • Flower ? Amen Flower I totally agree

   • Flower ? The reason why a lot of people is not understanding of what Kanye’s saying is because they never too much hear about people are mentally in bandage.

   • Flower ? Thank you.

8. Harvey give Van a raise.

9. I agree with Van, I love an educated black man who can enunciate /express his feelings with clarity and without profanity.

   • Nie’s World wow she really went there. because you assume what his heritage is you find it absurd that he is even on “that side”. Obviously not really a racist comment but it shows your bias and obvious tribal mentality. The Chinese have a word for all this. Baizuo which means white left, or more precise, those who “only care about topics such as immigration, minorities, LGBT and the environment” and “have no sense of real problems in the real world”; they are hypocritical humanitarians who advocate for peace and equality only to “satisfy their own feeling of moral superiority”; they are “obsessed with political correctness” to the extent that they “tolerate backwards Islamic values for the sake of multiculturalism”; they believe in the welfare state that “benefits only the idle and the free riders”; they are the “ignorant and arrogant westerners” who “pity the rest of the world and think they are saviours to humanity and the future”. Progressives are such a joke in Asia they invented a word for them.

   • Marcus Lopez what I was saying was . How can you side with someone who clearly doesn’t have your best interest at heart. I’m done with this conversation. If you don’t see where I’m coming from you don’t have to. At the end of the day my experience and other black people have a far different experience than any other race. I don’t have to explain or get my experience validated by someone who doesn’t experience the same . Enjoy your day all. And FYI, I’m half Chinese

   • Nie’s World I love it to

   • Saroj Rai x

   • PUT WEST IN THE HOOD AND LETS SEE IF HE FEEL`S THE SAME. I DONT THINK SO SEND HIM TO LEON VALLEY POLICE STATION.WITH A CAMERA . HIS GONNA GET TORTURE BY THEM DIRTY COPS.

10. I think we can all agree that Van deserves a raise, an award, or a bonus. Preferably a raise 💶💰

    • Hmmm I don’t think he does

    • “Rise above slave mentality”? In what universe does sitting down and keeping your mouth shut while the opposing party starts trying to twist the truth to support their ideology equal rising above slave mentality? He definitely deserves a raise for explaining his points as eloquently as he did, unafraid to look his former idol in the eyes and tell him what’s real.

    • The only people giving van a raise are his plantation owners. Didn’t Marley sing “Free yourselves from mental slavery”? Why is that so hard to do? Why is that so hard to understand?

    • Kelsey Morrison why? Because he said a couple words?

11. I think he’s trying to say we are slaves and we need to fight back for better change

12. Harvey Van Lathan needs a raise!!! Van you have so much class and eloquence. 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

    • thefamilymixx why? Because he disagreed with Kanye wow give him a raise he has a different point of view, Kanye is entitled to his opinion just like you and me , there’s nothing wrong with supporting the president of the United States of America in my opinion

    • Completely agree. TMZ is such a guilty pleasure for me. So nice to see that at least Van really has the substance I thought he did and hopefully others on the show do too. If not, it’s ok. The show is silly. Either way, Van gets a raise! 👍

    • thefamilymixx yes give him a RAISE

    • He was extremely well versed Kanye didn’t have a chance With intelligent men that live in reality compared to Kanye’s fantasy life

    • van lat8han always looks like he’s smelling somet8hing

13. I see both sides. I saw the headline and was like, “wow, that’s messed up” then I watched the full interview.
    I got to say I don’t think Kanye meant slaves chose slavery. I think what he meant was they were programmed thinking there was no way out and became slaves to their reality, if no one were to have stood up and questioned their reality then people would have still been stuck in the reality they were given. He then talks about how we are all slaves or in prison to our reality because everyone seems to think the same due to the media and other people’s opinions. where maybe it’s time we all start questioning why we think and live in situations we do.
    He also stated in another interview that he has waited for this age of thinkers. His parents were activists fighting for change.
    Which is why he likes Trump, Trump doesn’t give in to the media or seem to care about all the things media says is wrong with him.
    Do I agree with Kanye 🤔… I’m not sure… but from listening to the whole interview instead of clips, my understanding of what Kanye meant was that.

14. I think it was pretty obvious he meant the way people think of slavery now, the way they are all rooted in the past, is a choice. It’s a choice not to be a slave to the past it’s a choice not to be a slave to being a victim.

15. Haitians stopped being slaves, I think he was saying waiting for your situation to change and making your situation change is the point.

16. Kanye made a great point. You just misunderstood him. He said ‘it sounds like a choice’

17. Look what Kanye did tho for real.

    He turned a company, with a cornerstone of exploiting, making a fool out of, and berating celebrities, into a classy argument of right and wrong, and a discussion of real world problems.

    Bigger picture.

    • filipinobruh90 touche

18. I saw the video and hedidn’t say “slavery was a choice” but “slavery sounds like a choice”. But one more time people heard only what they want to. Mental slavery….

19. Kanye meant MENTAL SLAVERY!!!!!

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