'He's an artist, you know?' the showrunner said

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Kanye West had a lot of venting to do before his performances on the Feb. 13 edition of Saturday Night Live, as the internet discovered once Page Six published audio recordings taken from West’s dressing room. “Look at that sh–, they took my f—ing stage off SNL without asking me,” he says in the tape. “Now I’m bummed.”

West’s comments went viral, but SNL head Lorne Michaels didn’t seem fazed by the remarks. “That happened in the dressing room,” he told E! News Tuesday. “Kanye’s been on the show a lot of years, and it’s always different. He’s an artist, you know? A great artist.”

West went on to perform “Highlights” and “Ultralight Beam,” both off the recently released The Life of Pablo, that evening. He also appeared in a pre-taped sketch that featured him and cast member Kyle Mooney engaging in a “spontaneous” rap battle.

Michaels further expressed his lack of concern regarding West’s venting by pointing out the rapper’s previous success on the show. “When he did the 40th anniversary show, which I wanted him to be part of it, I had no idea what he was going to do, even 10 minutes before we went on the air,” Michaels said, referring to the February 2015 special. “He arrived that day. But he just always delivers, and he’s Kanye.”

Watch West’s performance of “Ultralight Beam” on SNL below.