Telethon Producer: No Kanye Rerun

09/08/2005 9:28 PM, E! Online
Charlie Amter

Hurricane Katrina may be long gone, but the storm surrounding Kanye West's controversial off-script rap lingers.

The hip-hop star's impromptu anti-President Bush, anti-media diatribe, airing live on the East Coast during NBC's A Concert for Hurricane Relief Sept. 2, was the dominant topic Thursday during a conference call about Friday's multi-network telethon to benefit victims of the Katrina disaster.

Executive producer Joel Gallen fielded several West-centric questions--the rapper is among the slate of performers for Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast--and told reporters that there are no specific plans afoot to deal with any politically minded remarks from any of the fundraiser's participants.

"The only precautions we have right now are for language," said Gallen, who also executive produced the star-studded 9-11 telethon America: A Tribute to Heroes.

However, the producer added, he doesn't expect anyone to veer off-script.

"I have spoken to nearly everyone on the bill...including Kanye," he said. "We're going forward with the understanding that [political commentary] will not be an issue. Everybody I have spoken to is in the same spirit of what this show is about, which is to raise money. We understand that feelings are high, but we want to channel feelings into donations.

"I think people understand that politicizing this will certainly not be a smart thing to do as far as inspiring people to call in and rally around this cause," he continued.

Aside from West, the bill features Mary J. Blige, Garth Brooks, Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow, Dixie Chicks, Foo Fighters, Alicia Keys, Randy Newman, Paul Simon, Rod Stewart, U2 and Neil Young.

In between their performances, A-list actors will appeal for donations. The roster of thesps inlcudes Jennifer Aniston, Jack Black, Cameron Diaz, Ellen DeGeneres, Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson, Chris Rock, Ray Romano and Sela Ward.

The concert is being jointly produced by ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, UPN and the WB, which will all simulcast the hourlong telethon commercial-free at 8 p.m. ET (it will air on tape to the West Coast at 8 p.m. PT). Several cable outlets have also signed up to air the show, including E!, Bravo, CNBC, CourtTV, Lifetime, Showtime, Style Network, TBS and USA; the concert will also air on radio stations and be streamed online, including AOL, Yahoo and Real.com.

Each network is expected to employ its own version of a delay (from five to 30 seconds), which is standard for any live event.

Gallen insists that the delay is purely for "accidental obscenities," and that he was not planning any additional countermeasures should any of the participants choose to use the platform as a soapbox.

CBS' Chris Ender echoed Gallen's remarks. "We don't expect or want this to be a platform for political statement," he said.

"People across this industry have shed their day jobs over the past week for the sole purpose of raising the most amount of dollars possible for those in need. Anything that takes away from getting the most amount of dollars to people affected in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama would be very unfortunate."

West sparked debate--and the ire of NBC--for saying that "George Bush doesn't care about black people" during A Concert for Hurricane Relief. The network immediately released a statement distancing itself from the comments and edited the remark out of the West Coast version of the concert.

Since then, he has deflected questions about his statement. But his longtime friend Jay-Z defended West. "I'm backing Kanye 100 percent," Jay-Z told Billboard by phone from London. "This is America. You should be able to say what you want to say. We have freedom of speech."

In any event, West was on his best behavior Thursday night during the NFL's Opening Kickoff special on ABC.

As he promised in advance of the event, the rapper, who is currently topping the charts with his new album, Late Registration, and single, "Gold Digger," stuck to entertaining--performing a straight version of the new track "Heard 'Em Say" Thursday with Maroon 5's Adam Levine. He did briefly address the crowd, ending the tune by saying, "To the victim's of Katrina: I love y'all."

West will prove that love further in two additional Katrina television fundraisers. The Chicago-based artist is set to perform on BET's S.O.S. (Saving Ourselves) benefit, also airing Friday, and MTV, VH1 and CMT's ReAct Now: Music & Relief special Saturday.