On Friday, before a live audience at Inglewood, California’s Forum, Kanye West premiered the much-anticipated music video for his song “Famous” from “The Life of Pablo.” And whoa, boy. Whatever fans were expecting, it probably wasn’t this: a star-studded tableau of naked celebrities, half-covered in an apparent tangle of post-coital white sheets.
Available exclusively through Tidal, the music streaming service owned by Jay Z, the NSFW, nearly 11-minute-long video sets West and wife Kim Kardashian West at the center of a giant bed, surrounded by sleeping celebrities. The scene is a recreation of painter Vincent Desiderio’s work, “Sleep,” recast with pop stars and newsmakers, many of whom have floated in and out of Kanye’s orbit.
Audiences are left to wonder which celebrities actually participated in the shoot and which ones had their likenesses inserted into Kanye’s bed through the magic of digital editing and/or make-up and doubles.
Let’s break down the cast of characters:
– Kanye: Ye, of course, is the focal point of the post-orgy repose. The rapper debuted “The Life of Pablo,” in February during his Yeezy Season 3 fashion show in Madison Square Garden. The master of marketing knows how to build suspense; he made fans wait four months for the “Famous” video. Even then, fans at the Forum had to sit through an extended static shot of a sunset before getting to the actual video.
– Kim Kardashian West: To Kanye’s right is his wife, Kim, her derriere in full bloom. Kim has been a fierce defender of her husband, especially related to his ongoing feud with the woman on his left, Taylor Swift.
– Taylor Swift: Kayne says it right there in the song: “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex.” Sure enough – at least in the fantasyscape of Kanye’s psyche – they did. Of course, that lyric is followed by this: “Why? I made that b— famous,” a lyric that throws kerosene on the already-burning feud/publicity stunt between Taylor and Kanye. So far, no reaction from Ms. Swift.
– Caitlyn Jenner: Is it a little awkward to see Caitlyn Jenner lying naked a few feet away from her stepdaughter? Sure, but the whole thing is awkward. That’s the point. Anyway, how could Kanye not include the world’s most famous transgender person, who happens to be his in-law?
– Amber Rose: Kayne dated actress/model/singer/emoji entrepreneur Amber Rose for two years. The two have traded Twitter jabs in recent months, but perhaps they put the past behind them to hop back into bed for this video.
– Ray J: Singer Ray J rocketed across the public radar in 2007 when his sex tape with ex-girlfriend Kim Kardashian was made public. Now he’s back again – or at least his doppleganger is – curled up right next to Kim.
– Rihanna: It’s not surprising to see Rihanna in this video. She contributed vocals to “Famous,” and she and Kanye have collaborated frequently in the past.
– Chris Brown: It’s a little surprising to see Rihanna in bed next to her ex Chris Brown, with whom she had a tumultuous, sometimes violent relationship. But Brown indicated in an Instagram post that it wasn’t really him in the video. “Why I gotta have the plumbers butt/ crack showing WAX figure?” He added, “This n—- KANYE CRAZY, talented, but crazy.”
– Donald Trump: Here’s where things start to get really crazy. To Rihanna’s left lies billionaire Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Trump has said in the past that he gets by on just three to four hours of sleep at night, so it’s good to see he’s getting some rest. And that the part in his hair stays perfectly in place while he sleeps.
– Anna Wintour: We wish we could have seen video of the famed Vogue editor first seeing her naked likeness in bed next to Donald Trump. But Wintour has had a long relationship with the Kardashian-Wests, sometimes, apparently, to the dismay of her staffers.
– Bill Cosby: At this point, you probably can’t make a music video about fame and sex without including Bill Cosby. So there’s the 78 year-old comedian, charged with decades of sexual abuse, looking doughy and rough with stubble as he cuddles up next to Caitlyn Jenner.
– George W. Bush: The 43rd president has said that hearing Kanye’s post-Katrina statement that “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” was one of the worst experiences of his presidency. It seems safe to assume that the “Bush” in this video is a body-double.