'Rush Hour' star Chris Tucker is insisting that he was not aware that Kanye West was planning to use the televised live benefit concert for 2005's Hurricane Katrina as a stage to rant about US President George W. Bush. In the support concert for people in New Orleans, Louisiana, Kanye West decided to express the view that "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

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The televised show had to cut to Tucker offstage during the rant, however, 'The Fifth Element' actor has expressed that he was just as surprised as everyone else. When he spoke to Playboy magazine, expressing his surprise by saying: "Kanye didn't tell me he was going to say it. I didn't know what to think. I don't know if what he said helped any. It was definitely shocking. But maybe it did help, and maybe he was the right person to say it."

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He went further to support West's claims, saying: "The people in New Orleans needed help, and nobody was helping them. I didn't realise then how bad it was, but he had a lot of information. It was the right place to say it, on national TV for everyone to hear."