Mike Myers is 'proud' of Kanye West's infamous Hurricane Katrina telethon rant in which he branded President Bush 'racist'

He famously wore a look of utter shock at the time.
But Mike Myers has said Kanye West 'spoke the truth' during an infamous Hurricane Katrina rant during which the hip hop star claimed 'George Bush doesn't care about black people.'
In fact the Austin Powers favourite said he is 'proud' to have been standing next to he furious rapper when he delivered his emotional outburst during their appearance on a national 2005 telethon to aid victims of the disaster

Backed: Mike Myers has said he supported Kanye West's infamous 2005 Hurricane Katrina telethon rant despite appearing shocked at the time

The Canadian star told GQ: 'For me it isn't about the look of embarrassment on my face, it is truly about the injustice that was happening in New Orleans.

'I'm the guy next to the guy who spoke a truth.

'I assume that George Bush does care about black people, I mean I don't know him, I'm going to make that assumption, but I can definitively say that it appeared to me watching television that had that been white people, the government would have been there faster.'

The 50-year-old, who has taken out US citizenship, also said he was deeply moved at seeing the plight his adopted countrymen were suffering.

He said: 'I remember just being so upset and feeling, ironically, that if this was white people on roofs, the army would be there in five seconds.

Gobsmacked: However the Wayne's World star seemed stunned at the time

'And these are my fellow citizens, who just happen to be people of color, sitting on roofs for multiple days.'

He also tried to play down the amount of publicity his reaction attracted, saying it was very much a side issue.

The Wayne's World star said: 'To me that's really the point -- the look on my face is, to me, almost insulting to the true essence of what went down in New Orleans.

'To have the emphasis on the look on my face versus the fact that somebody spoke truth to power at a time when somebody needed to speak?  I'm very proud to have been next to him.'

Ironically, he should not even have been sharing the stage with the Golddigger favourite, but a last minute change of plan was foisted on him by the producers of NBC's A Concert for Hurricane Relief.

Last minute double act: Mike was initially going to do a solo spot before producers teamed him with Kanye

He said: 'I went there specifically because I wanted to help the Red Cross. I was supposed to be by myself, and I was like "fine," then they said "Do you mind doing it with somebody else?"

'And I always remembered that Live Aid thing of "leave your egos at the door," so I said, "Sure, of course." And they said, "Would you do it with Kanye West?" and I said, "Uh sure."'

'I actually wasn't familiar with his work. And then he said he was going to take some liberties with the thing … But I didn't know that the liberty would be calling out the president.'

While Mike has backed the rapper over the incident, Kanye has long since apologised for his conduct.

In 2010 he admitted: 'I would say of George Bush, in my moment of frustration, I didn’t have the grounds to call him a racist.

Too little too late: President Bush, seen here visiting a food bank during the disaster, was criticised for the slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina

'But I believe that in a situation of high emotion like that, we as human beings don’t always choose the right words.'

The President also gave his thoughts on the incident in his memoirs Decision Points.

He said: 'I faced a lot of criticism as president. I didn’t like hearing people claim that I lied about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction or cut taxes to benefit the rich.

'But the suggestion that I was racist because of the response to Katrina represented an all-time low.'

At least 1,833 people died in the cyclone and subsequent floods, and it was the deadliest US hurricane since 1928.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency took days to establish operations in New Orleans, and seemed to lack a plan of action, and officials, including President Bush, seemed unaware of just how bad things were in New Orleans and elsewhere.