Kanye West Rips Billboard Music Awards: I Was "Grossly Over-Censored"

"It is ridiculous that in 2015, unwarranted censorship is something that artists still have to fight against."

Kanye West has released a statement via his publicist in response to his heavily censored Billboard Music Awards performance, calling it "ridiculous."

The statement, sent to The Hollywood Reporter, reads: "Kanye West was grossly over-censored at the Billboard Music Awards. Non-profane lyrics such as 'with my leather black jeans on' were muted for over 30 second intervals. As a result, his voice and performance were seriously misrepresented."

"It is ridiculous that in 2015, unwarranted censorship is something that artists still have to fight against," the statement continues.

"Although West was clearly set up to face elements beyond his control during the live broadcast, he would like to apologize to the television audience who were unable to enjoy the performance the way he envisioned."

Reps for ABC and Dick Clark Productions had no comment.

West performed "All Day" and "Black Skinhead" during Sunday's award show, but massive swaths of audio were cut by censors.

The censored and uncensored versions of the performance can be watched below.