Such a busy bee! Kris Jenner explained why her son-in-law, Kanye West, was absent from the 2017 Grammys on Sunday, February 12, noting that the rapper has a “big fashion show” coming up for New York Fashion Week, so has been tied up with preparations. Watch the moment in the video above!
“The truth is he’s got a big fashion show in New York because it’s New York Fashion Week,” Jenner, 61, said on the red carpet, adding, “And my entire family is back there. … Some of the kids are on their way tomorrow. He’s got a lot of work to do. We wish he could be here!”
West, 39, previously declared during an October Saint Pablo Tour show in Oakland, California, that he would boycott the Grammys if his pal Frank Ocean wasn’t nominated for an award for his new album, Blonde. (Ocean, 29, did not enter his album for Grammy consideration, but did take to Tumblr to clap back at Grammy executive producer Ken Ehrlich and writer David Wild just ahead of the awards show, writing, “We all die one day, and you’re old.”)
“The album I listened to the most this year is Frank Ocean’s album,” West said at the time. “I’ll tell you this right now: If his album is not nominated in no categories, I’m not showing up to the Grammys. As artists, we’ve got to come together to fight the bulls–t.”
The “Fade” rapper pointed out that the Grammy committee has favored other artists in the past, using Lady Gaga as an example. “Now Frank Ocean, on the other hand, is very vocal that his album wasn’t nominated for the Grammys, right? Since he’s vocal, no one wants to say nothing about it. No one wants to do nothing about it,” West continued. “And I’m saying this to y’all because a lot of people try to make a scene, like, ‘I’m so self-centered.’”
West is nominated for six awards at Sunday night’s Grammys: dual nominations for Best Rap Song (“Ultralight Beam” and “Famous”), Best Rap Album (The Life of Pablo), two nominations for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (“Famous” and “Ultralight Beam”) and Best Rap Performance (“That Part”).
The multihyphenate artist isn’t the only bold-faced name who’ll be missing from music’s big night, however. Justin Bieber and Drake will also be absent from the show despite numerous nominations.
Bieber, 22, is choosing not to attend because he “doesn’t think the Grammys are relevant or representative, especially when it comes to young singers,” a source claimed to TMZ. He’s up for four Grammys this year, including Album of the Year for Purpose and Song of the Year for “Love Yourself.”
Drake, meanwhile, will be on tour in Europe Sunday; the 30-year-old rapper was nominated for eight awards, including several for his album Views, which featured his smash hit “Hotline Bling.”
