Kanye West, Annie Leibovitz issue statement regarding photo fracas

That Kanye West and Kim Kardashian were married last month in Italy you no doubt remember.

Depending on your level of interest in America’s Most Compelling Family, you might even recall that West on Tuesday had some harsh post-nupital words for Annie Leibovitz.

The photographer, who recently shot the couple for the cover of Vogue, was set to document the blessed event but backed out on short notice because she was “scared of the idea of celebrity,” West said, according to the New York Post’s Page Six.

Now West and Leibovitz have issued a joint statement through West’s publicist in which the two address the matter.

Sort of.

As many celebrity statements do, the release begins by noting that West’s original comments were “taken out of context and sensationalized.” Got that?

Then it says, “Although Kanye expressed frustration that he was not able to collaborate with Annie Leibovitz at his recent wedding, he is not assigning blame, and is not focusing on Annie in any way.”

The rapper and the photographer -- or rather their “representatives” -- “were in negotiations for weeks that were not completed by the time of the wedding.”

Leibovitz, it turns out, “was never confirmed,” the statement insists. (The New York Daily News reported that the West-Kardashian wedding photo, which set a record for the number of “likes” it received on Instagram, was shot by Conor McDonnell, a young British rock photographer.)

The statement goes on to say that West considers Leibovitz “an example of how to merge culture and tech.”

“Picture this,” West is quoted as saying. “The most-liked Instagram photo of all time, shot by Annie Leibovitz. Oh, I’m sorry for dreaming out loud. Again.”

Aren’t you better off for having read one more celebrity apology?

Twitter: @mikaelwood