Spike Jonze says Kanye West mistakenly uploaded their forthcoming short movie together on his blog.
The rapper posted the film, entitled We Were Once A Fairytale, on his website on Sunday but later removed it without explanation.
In an interview with the New York Times, Jonze said the film had been leaked from the post-production facility of a friend and that West had not realised it was still unfinished.
“I think he was like, ‘Oh, it’s out. I’ll link to it',” Jonze said.
The director, who previously worked with West on the video to 'Flashing Lights', admitted he found the leak uncomfortable.
“This is the first time it’s happened to me and it is a weird feeling, like, ‘Wait a second — I wasn’t ready to put that out!” he said.
“That’s mine. Uh, no, I guess it’s not mine anymore.’”
But he still had praise for the rapper, whose outspokenness has come under fire over recent months.
“I like Kanye and I care about him. This video is a side of him,” Jonze said.
“Who knows? I don’t know what the reception is going to be, but I love making stuff with him. I love the guy.”
We Were Once A Fairytale sees West play himself drunk at a club and concludes with the rapper plunging a knife into his stomach to release a demon.
It is sound tracked by West's song 'See You In My Nightmares', which featured on his 2008 album '808s and Heartbreak'.
The movie will be given a full release on iTunes on Tuesday (October 27).
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