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Rapper Kanye West attacked by Parkinson's UK charity over 'inexcusably stupid' shaking lyric on track from new album Yeezus

 

Adam Sherwin
Thursday 20 June 2013 13:01 BST
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Kanye West's Yeezus does more than previous records to deconstruct his status as a hip-hop superstar
Kanye West's Yeezus does more than previous records to deconstruct his status as a hip-hop superstar (AP)

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Kanye West has been accused of ignorance and stupidity after the rapper mocked Parkinson’s disease sufferers on his new album.

The track "On Sight", from the album Yeezus, includes the lyric: “Soon as I pull up and park the Benz / We get this b***h shaking like Parkinson’s.”

The main symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are stiffness and shaking in the form of tremors.

Steve Ford, Chief Executive at Parkinson’s UK, said: “Kanye West has shown an inexcusable level of stupidity and cruelty towards people living with an incurable condition.

“Life with Parkinson’s is difficult enough without becoming fodder for insensitive celebrities who should know better, looking for their next big hit.

“People with Parkinson’s have to cope with intolerable social discrimination on a daily basis – often to the point where they are afraid to go out in public – and this sort of thoughtless, callous comment can only serve to make things even worse for them.”

The American Parkinson Disease Association called the song “distasteful and the product of obvious ignorance.”

The Yeezus album is being kept off the top spot by Irish newcomers Kodaline, according to midweek figures released by the Official Chart Company.

Meanwhile West and his partner Kim Kardashian are reported to have named their new born baby daughter Kaidence Donda West.

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