John Tory channels inner rapper to poke fun at himself over Kanye gaffe
Posted July 16, 2015 2:39 pm.
Last Updated July 16, 2015 3:35 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
You’ve got to hand it to Toronto Mayor John Tory. If you can laugh at anyone, laugh at yourself.
And unlike his predecessor, beleaguered former mayor Rob Ford, Tory appears willing to own his PR mistakes with humour rather than bluster.
His latest gaffe happened Wednesday afternoon, when Tory responded to a question about Kanye West performing in the Pan Am Games closing ceremonies by making it clear he had no idea Kanye wasn’t Canadian.
“I won’t say that I spend every single night at home listening to his music, but, you know what, I’m smart enough to know that a lot of people do,” Tory said at a press conference. “And I’m smart enough to know that he’s a proud product of our music industry here, as are a number of others.”
After taking a lambasting on social media, Tory responded Thursday with a video poking fun at himself, riding Toronto’s subway while listening to Kanye’s hit “Stronger” on his headphones.
The minute-long video posted Thursday on his Twitter feed, features the 61-year-old self-proclaimed jazz fan bopping to the beat while wearing a goofy baseball cap and looking at a newspaper article about the mayor himself, and then a magazine featuring Kanye’s famous wife, Kim Kardashian.
RELATED STORIES:
Petition asks that Kanye West be replaced by Canadian at Pan Am closing ceremony
Tory mistakenly calls Kanye a proud product of Toronto’s music industry
Video: Kanye West to perform at Pan Am Games closing ceremony, like it or not
In an interview with NewsTalk 1010 Wednesday afternoon, Tory referenced Kardashian when acknowledging his ignorance about the rap star.
“All I can focus on with Kanye West is who he is married to,” Tory said. “I only know who his wife is, that’s all I know about him and now I know he’s an American so there we go.”
Hats off to Tory for making light of a light situation.
