Matt Lauer Responds to Kanye’s ‘Today’ Show Tweets

In an effort to clear the air, Matt Lauer addressed Kanye West's recent frustration after his 'Today' show interview -- which took place earlier this week -- on air this morning. Lauer's need for an explanation comes after Kanye tweeted that he felt "used" by the morning show, adding that Lauer attempted to "force" his answers.

Known for his rants and temper tantrums, West's issue may garner him some sympathy this time around when factoring in the 'Today' show's need to respond, coupled with the rapper/producer's obvious desire to publicly mend fences. Lauer went on-air to defend what he calls "standard procedure." The "standard procedure" Kanye held issue with -- and comments on during his interview -- is the show's habit of playing video footage of incidents as a point of reference during the interview. The attempt to defend the interview forced the show to air some of the unedited footage, which shows Kanye clearly being annoyed by the footage being played while he talked. "How am I supposed to talk if you're going to run this thing in the middle while I'm talking," Kanye interrupts himself to say to Lauer and the producers. Check out the footage below.

Whether you agree with Kanye or Matt Lauer and the 'Today' show, it's safe to say both George W. Bush and West are getting the publicity they banked on with the help of the morning show. Kanye is scheduled to return to the 'Today' show to perform live on Nov. 26. Hopefully, West will have forgiven Lauer by then and the 'Today' show will have spelled his name right.