According to several people “familiar with the arrangements of the interview,” Kanye West had consulted with a public relations firm before his interview with Matt Lauer on NBC’s The Today Show earlier this week! Apparently he wanted Rubenstein Communications (a public relations firm who specializes in celebrity clients) to help him respond to the comment George W. Bush made about Mr. West on an NBC prime-time interview on Monday night. However, the rapper who’s album comes out on Nov 22nd and Rubenstein Communications are no longer working together… Read more after the jump…
@wendyKlucas

Kanye West can usually be counted on to say what’s on his mind, but the rapper had some extra help formulating those thoughts when he was interviewed on NBC’s “Today” show this week: he hired the public relations firm Rubenstein Communications to coach him on his response to former President George W. Bush, and the firm and the rapper are no longer working together following Mr. West’s feud with “Today,” according to several people familiar with the arrangements of the interview.

Mr. West wanted to use his interview to answer Mr. Bush, and the gravity of responding to the former president was not lost on him. To help him formulate his language for his answer, Mr. West turned to Rubenstein, a firm that represents numerous celebrity and corporate clients and also consults in damage-control situations.

After Mr. Bush’s prime-time interview was shown on Monday, Mr. West’s personal handlers and Rubenstein felt the former president did not say much that warranted a response from Mr. West, and mutually decided to cancel the “Today” interview that night.

But for unknown reasons, Mr. West’s team contacted the show on Tuesday morning to say that Mr. West would in fact do the interview. His coach at Rubenstein was initially unaware that Mr. West had re-booked the appearance and had to hurry to NBC’s studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza to meet him and his team there.

Mr. West has since announced that he will not perform a concert at the “Today” show planned for Nov. 26. It was unclear if Mr. West would still participate as scheduled in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is broadcast on NBC and hosted by Mr. Lauer and Meredith Vieira of “Today.”

Representatives for the “Today” show, Rubenstein Communications and Mr. West’s record label, Island Def Jam, all declined to comment for this report.

nyt