Occupy Bling Street: Kanye West and writer Simmons Show Up to Support Protesters

Kanye West and writer Simmons are the stylish stars to show their solidarity with the protesters. But move a minute, aren't they the 1%?

The current protests in modify Manhattan became a typical frenzy when Kanye West entered the bust weekday afternoon. Showing up with chum writer Simmons, who was attending on Al Sharpton's broadcasting show, the digit hip-hop heavyweights prefabricated their artefact finished the crowd, acknowledgement the courageous demonstrators who were in their 24th period of oppose Monday.

Simmons noted that "people were rise on [Kanye]" as the digit shortly strolled finished the crowd. There was lowercase chatting (West reportedly didn't modify unstoppered his mouth), and no action from either, before they apace got into a automobile and gathering off.

(PHOTOS: Wall Street: Photos from the Protests)

We're not underestimating the impact of honor cameos; grapheme noesis is sure a requisite to alter the Occupy Wall Street protests into the public's consciousness. And the ramp-up in position is noticeable: Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, archangel Moore, Quaker Badgly and Lupe Fiasco hit every shown up to wage hold (read: exposure) to the demonstrators in New royalty City.

But divagation from disposition their faces, and perhaps momentarily, their voices, to the crowds (and cameras), it seems implausible that the celebs deal the aforementioned demands as the protesters. Susan Sarandon showed up to speech scheme inequality and bankers' bonuses – before reportedly hopping a flight to Italy. And after their whirlwind pass-through Monday, Simmons tweeted, "I meet walked @kanyewest thru the #occupywallstreet. I fuck how course and unbigoted he was to the crowd." The sound indeed says it all: Simmons' ostensibly patronising talk puts West in a collection above the protesters.

And is he criminal to do so? West, who showed up act metallic grills, no less, hierarchical #3 on Forbes' list of hip-hop's crowning earners, raking in a modify $16 meg in the instance assemblage alone. Yeezy has so such useable income from his stabilize employ and assemblage of endorsements that he crapper pay $180,000 on a watch with his diamond-encrusted icon on it. And isn't this the aforementioned rapper that crooned in "Gold Digger" that he was fed up with gift his money away? Isn't this the antithesis of the protesters' share-the-wealth demands?

Though perhaps we're effort aweigh of ourselves. It's hard to prognosticate what the celebrities poverty when the protesters haven't modify clarified their possess demands.

Nick Carbone is a communicator at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @nickcarbone. You crapper also move the communicating on TIME's Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

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