Kanye West and John Legend may not agree on politics, but the love between the two is still there.
Kanye West and John Legend may not agree on politics, but the love between the two is still there.
On Wednesday, the 40-year-old rapper tweeted about his enthusiastic support of President Donald Trump, calling him his "brother" and showing off his signed "Make America Great Again" hat. Not surprisingly, West's latest Twitter rant caused controversy -- prompting his wife, Kim Kardashian West, to take to Twitter to defend him -- and on Thursday, he shared text messages between himself and longtime friend Legend. Legend reached out to West to rethink his support of Trump.
"Hey it's JL," Legend texted. "I hope you'll reconsider aligning yourself with Trump. You're way too influential and powerful to endorse who he is and what he stands for. As you know, what you say really means something to your fans. They are loyal to you and respect your opinion. So many people who love you feel so betrayed right now because they know the harm that Trump's policies cause, especially to people of color. Don't let this be part of your legacy. You're the greatest artist of our generation."
West replied, "I love you John and I appreciate your thoughts. You bringing up my fans or my legacy is a tactic based on fear used to manipulate my free thought."
After West shared the texts, Legend responded again, adding a little humor.
"Think freely," he wrote. "Think with empathy and context too. Your words and actions have consequences. Much love. And since you're posting texts, let me add that I have a new single out haha."
"Haha. I love you John," West responded, adding a crying laughing emoji.
West explained posting his private texts.
"I tweeted the John text to show that there are people around me that disagree with me and voice their opinion," he wrote. "I respect everyone's opinion but I stand my ground. If you feel something don't let peer pressure manipulate you."
"I really appreciate this dialogue with John Legend because I'm actually very empathetic," he added. "I'm still the kid from the telethon. I feel when people think of MAGA they don't think of empathy. This is year one. We can't ad empathy to MAGA by hating. We can only ad empathy with love and time and truly hearing all sides."
West also hilariously did end up giving a shout-out to Legend's new single.
Meanwhile, Legend's wife, Chrissy Teigen, also addressed the controversy on Thursday. West and Kardashian West are notably close to Teigen and Legend, with Teigen and Kardashian West even joking with one another about one of West's recent Twitter rants that talked about "getting rid of everything."
"Everyone keeps asking me to comment on sh**," Teigen wrote. "Comment on psycho Tami Lasagna, whom I refuse to give the joy to, say something about RHOA, speak up about Kanye. When it comes to people we know, we DO speak up. To THEM. not on Twitter. And sometimes, I guess it makes it to Twitter."
"This is the most elaborate and complex google pixel phone ad I have ever seen," she later joked about West posting his messages about her husband.
On Wednesday Legend not so subtly addressed West's controversial tweets, writing, “I imagine there’s some comfort in imagining a future without racism and projecting that onto the present. Thinking if we just deny the truth, it doesn’t exist. If history is erased, we don’t have to deal with its consequences. However, far too many people don’t have the luxury of closing their eyes and ears. They feel it in their lives and can’t act like what they see and know doesn’t exist.”
“I love that great, brilliant artists have the power to imagine a better future," he added. "But artists can be blind to the truth.”
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