Jimmy Kimmel and Kanye West finally faced off on last night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the results were pretty friendly. Turns out that West and Kimmel had met and talked several times before Kimmel offended West with a skit, and the two had even tried to talk things out before engaging in that epic Twitter battle. And while tweets like West’s “JIMMY KIMMEL PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES… OH NO THAT MEANS YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN TOO MUCH GOOD PUSSY IN YOUR LIFE…” could be read as West really taking Kimmel to school, West said he was laughing while he wrote them, likening the pair’s falling out to a high school disagreement.
While the interview was tense at points, especially in the beginning, Kimmel gave West plenty of room to speak his mind. And so he did, starting somewhat reticently, but ultimately warming up to the chat as Kimmel asked West to explain why he feels justified in proclaiming himself a genius. West rather lucidly explained that his mother raised him to believe in himself, and that if he were to hedge and say he’s not a genius, he’d be lying to himself and everyone else.
The whole interview is pasted below, and it’s well worth watching, especially if you’re interested in West’s thoughts on how being a celebrity is like being in a "zoo," or even if you just want to hear about Kim Kardashian’s struggle to get a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. West also delves pretty deeply into his ongoing struggle to break into the high-end fashion world, which remains its own uphill battle.