The Occupy Wall Street protests are going strong in several cities, and now famous names are starting to get involved.

Gothamist reports that hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons guided Kanye West through the crowds of the Occupy protest in New York City's Zuccotti Park on Monday afternoon, but their brush with the front lines of class warfare didn't last long. After a brief cameo, both Simmons and West got into a car and left.

The duo are already getting complaints about the short appearance, but Simmons tweeted that just the fact that West made an appearance means that it's "inspiring to others to see him there. Maybe he and others concerned will organize a big rally (?)" Of course, now that Simmons said that publicly, West will probably have to organize a big rally.

The oddest part of the Occupy Wall Street Twitter posts from Simmons is this tweet, where Simmons says that Kanye was "sweet and tolerant to the crowd." Yuck. Occupy Def Jam Headquarters, anyone?

Russell Simmons Occupy Wall Street
loading...
Russell Simmons Occupy Wall Street
loading...

[via Gothamist]

More From TheFW