Kanye West Lashes Out at Bonnaroo Hecklers

Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist Kanye West wrote a passionate defense on his blog Tuesday in response to criticism of his performance at the Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee earlier this month.

"This Bonnaroo thing is the worst insult I've ever had in my life," said West.

The 31-year-old rapper was originally slated to perform at 8:15 p.m. on June 14, but requested a later show time, rendering it dark enough to accommodate the concert stage from his "Glow in the Dark" tour. He was moved to a 2:45 a.m. performance slot which required him to load his space-themed stage directly after Pearl Jam.

According to AP News, West began his performance at 4:25 a.m. While waiting three hours for West to perform, the audience began chanting "Kanye sucks" and throwing bottles at the stage.

"I stepped on the front part of my stage and there was so much liquid on the stage I couldn't move without slipping," West said.

West, who won two BET Awards Tuesday, said he went "back and forth" with the festival organizers on whether or not his staging met their specifications. He said he realized that he was dealing with "idiots who didn't really have the capacity to really put on this show properly."

The artist also said he felt the organizers of the festival should have released a statement in his defense.

Critics of the performance not only took offense with West's tardiness, but several faulted the rapper for omitting some of his most popular songs from the show as well.

"I cut a few songs from the set because I wanted people to experience 'Stronger' while there was still some darkness to perform it in," said West, "I've struggled with 'Stronger' from its conception."

The performance of the song, 'Stronger,' which samples heavily from Daft Punk, involves an intricate light show that is best seen in dark environments.

Tuesday was not the first time West used his blog to "set the record straight." Last May, West lashed out at Entertainment Weekly for giving a "B plus" rating to his "Glow in the Dark" tour performance in Seattle, saying the publication is no longer welcome at his concerts.