The controversial rapper took to Instagram to claim he and Karefa-Johnson spoke about their disagreements.
After publically dragging Vogue contributing editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson on Instagram after she criticized his "White Lives Matter" t-shirt, Kanye "Ye" West claims that he's met with the editor for a civil discussion about their political disagreements.
"GABBY IS MY SISTER," West wrote, in his traditional all-caps style. "IM NOT LETTING PEOPLE GO TO BED THINKING I DIDN’T MEET WITH GABRIELLE AT 5 PM TODAY FOR 2 HOURS THEN WE WENT TO DINNER AT FERDIE."
After he was photographed wearing a "White Lives Matter" shirt at his Yeezy fashion show in Paris -- where he was joined by rightwing pundit Candance Owens, who also wort the controversial statement on her shirt -- West faced a deluge of criticism from celebs, talk show hosts and the general public.
In a post from Karefa-Johnson, the fashion editor expressed that "the t-shirts this man conceived, produced, and shared with the world are pure violence," adding that "there is no excuse, there is no art here."
West then responded by insulting Karefa-Johnson's own style choices in since-deleted Instagram posts, which drew the ire of many celebs who came to her defense.
Now, however, West claims that not only did he meet with Karefa-Johnson, but that the meeting was filmed by Oscar-nominated director Baz Luhrmann, at the behest of Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour.
"ANNA HAD BAZ LUHRMANN FILM OUR MEETING AND WE ARE EDITING TONIGHT," West continued in his post. "WE TOOK PICS AND I WAS INSTRUCTED TO NOT POST THEM."
According to West, he felt that Karefa-Johnson had been instructed by Vogue to criticize him -- a similar claim to one he made about Daily Show host Trevor Noah. However, Karefa-Johnson allegedly stressed that her critiques were her own.
"IT FELT LIKE SHE WAS BEING USED LIKE TREVOR NOAH AND OTHER BLACK PEOPLE TO SPEAK ON MY EXPRESSION. SHE EXPRESSED THAT HER COMPANY DID NOT INSTRUCT HER TO SPEAK ON MY T SHIRT EXPRESSION," West wrote, adding, "WE APOLOGIZED TO EACH OTHER FOR THE WAY WE MADE EACH OTHER FEEL WE ACTUALLY GOT ALONG AND HAVE BOTH EXPERIENCED THE FIGHT FOR ACCEPTANCE IN A WORLD THAT’S NOT OUR OWN
"SHE DISAGREED I DISAGREED WE DISAGREED," he concluded. "AT LEAST WE BOTH LOVE FERDIE AND FASHION."
On Tuesday morning, Vogue spoke out about the "bullying" their editor received from West, and confirmed that the meeting West posted about did, in fact, occur.
"Vogue stands with Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, our global fashion editor at large and longtime contributor. She was personally targeted and bullied. It is unacceptable," the publication shared in a statement posted to Instagram. "Now more than ever, voices like hers are needed and in a private meeting with Ye today she once again spoke her truth in a way she felt best, on her terms."
In videos online, the Donda rapper can be seen wearing the t-shirt as he recorded children -- including his daughter North -- walking around in a circle as they sang at the event.
Per the Anti-Defamation League, the phrase is considered a "hate slogan," crafted by White supremacists who co-opted the "Black Lives Matter" movement -- used by Black people protesting police brutality -- and reframed it.
It's unclear what statement West was aiming to make with these new t-shirts, but his relationship with race has long made headlines, with West -- a champion of former President Trump's MAGA campaign -- at one point supporting the Black Lives Matter movement just two years after claiming slavery was a "choice" during an explosive interview with TMZ.
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