Kanye West And Russell Simmons Join Occupy Wall Street

The movement that started as a small protest against corporate greed has expanded to encompass several cities and garner the attention of big-name celebs. As of Monday, rapper Kanye West was the latest celebrity to visit the movement, joining the ranks of actors Penn Badgley, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, plus filmmaker Michael Moore.

Activist and music mogul Russell Simmons ran into the “Power” singer at the rally in Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park, where West kept a relatively low profile, reports Rolling Stone. Simmons tweeted about the event: “walked @kanyewest trhu the #occupywallstreet. I love how sweet and tolerant he was to the crowd.”

West’s appearance at the rally has gained some criticism since many see the rapper himself as representing opulence and an imbalanced distribution of wealth. Simmons also responded to the Twitter uprising against his friend, tweeting, “His presence matters. #occupywallstreet. Celebrity [sic] have no real value except to use it to help others.” Many in the crowd agreed, especially in light of West’s low profile and the fact that he didn’t perform, which could have been perceived as him garnering attention for himself. One protestor yelled out, “There are no celebrities, just people,” according to DNAinfo.com.