Television bosses cut to Tucker, who was standing just offstage, when West delivered his infamous comment, "George Bush doesn't care about black people.
But the Rush Hour star claims he was as surprised as everybody else when West accused Bush of neglecting the mostly African-American community left in a devastated New Orleans, Louisiana.
He tells Playboy magazine, "Kanye didn't tell me he was going to say it. I didn't know what to think.
"I don't know if what he said helped any. It was definitely shocking. But maybe it did help, and maybe he was the right person to say it.
"The people in New Orleans needed help, and nobody was helping them. I didn't realise then how bad it was, but he had a lot of information.
"It was the right place to say it, on national TV for everyone to hear."
Source: WENN