Michael Che Says He Didn’t Know Kanye West Video Was Being Filmed
Originally published by AllHipHop Read the original
Michael Che opened up about the viral leaked video of him confronting Kanye West during an appearance on “What Now? with Trevor Noah.” The SNL writer and cast member revealed he had no idea he was being filmed when the backstage moment occurred, and only found out about the video when it suddenly appeared on social media feeds years later.
“I don’t know who taped that. I don’t know where that came from. I never talked about it. Nobody ever mentioned it. And then all of a sudden it’s just everywhere,” Che explained. “I would never said any of that stuff on a camera. I didn’t I didn’t know that.” The video resurfaced unexpectedly, catching both Che and host Trevor Noah off guard when it appeared in their YouTube recommendations.
During the interview, Che walked through the intense process of hosting Saturday Night Live, describing it as a grueling week that starts Monday with meetings and pitches, builds through a seven-to-eight-hour table read of about 40 sketches on Wednesday, and culminates in pre-tapes that can run until 4 A.M. on Friday before the live show on Saturday. “It feels like we’re planning someone else’s wedding every time,” Che said, explaining the high stakes and stress involved.
Regarding the Kanye situation, Che expressed frustration about the lack of consent when the video was filmed. “If you’re taping people at work, you should get some kind of consent form, right?” he said. The tension between Che and West eventually eased thanks to an unexpected intervention from Dave Chappelle. After a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, Chappelle was organizing a charity show and decided to reconcile the two. “He was like, ‘I’m picking up Kanye from the airport. I want you to come with me to pick him up. We’re going to bury the hatchet with this Kanye thing,'” Che recalled. Despite his initial resistance, Che agreed to the meeting, showing how even the most contentious celebrity conflicts can find resolution through mutual friends and shared humanity.
