Kanye West has been all over the news in recent days for everything from his bombastic tweeting and split with his management team to concerns over his seemingly erratic behavior and comments about how much he loves President Donald Trump.
Now some of his friends and collaborators (and even his wife) are weighing in to reveal how they feel about his support for the conservative and controversial president, Page Six reports.
After one round of Kanye's pro-Trump tweeting, Yeezy collaborator Chance the Rapper — who worked with Kanye on 2016's "The Life of Pablo" and also hails from Chicago — tweeted on April 25, "Black people don't have to be democrats." He later added the message, "Next President gon be independent."
Pal John Legend, however, came off as unsupportive in a series of tweets that appeared to be in response to Kanye's positive feelings toward Trump.
"I love that great, brilliant artists have the power to imagine a better future. But artists can't be blind to the truth," John tweeted.
The message came at the end of a series of tweets John posted on April 25 that began, "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."
The Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner continued, "They know their family was destroyed by deportation or incarceration. They know their loved one was denied safe harbor because of their religion. They know their son or daughter was shot because their skin color evoked fear. They see the statistics about black applications for real estate or loans or employment being turned away because their name was Jamal and not James."
A day later on April 26, Kanye tweeted screengrabs of a text conversation he was having with John, who reached out to his old friend directly to urge him to think twice about supporting Trump.
"Hey it's JL. I hope you'll reconsider aligning yourself with Trump. You're way to powerful and influential 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," John texted Kanye.
But Kanye wasn't having it. He texted back, "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."
John didn't back down. He again urged Kanye to understand that his "words and actions have consequences." Then, to lighten things up — Kanye had started tweeting their private texts at this point — he added, "And since you're posting texts, let me add that I have a new single out haha."
Kim Kardashian West aggressively defended her husband on social media on April 25 in several lengthy tweets including one that read, "To the media trying to demonize my husband let me just say this… your commentary on Kanye being erratic & his tweets being disturbing is actually scary. So quick to label him as having mental health issues for just being himself when he has always been expressive is not fair."
She also made it clear that she doesn't agree with her husband's support of Trump while continuing to defend Kanye. "Now when he spoke out about Trump… Most people (including myself) have very different feelings & opinions about this. But this is HIS opinion. I believe in people being able to have their own opinions,even if really different from mine He never said he agrees with his politics," Kim wrote.
The reality TV star and beauty mogul continued, "Kanye will never run in the race of popular opinion and we know that and that's why I love him and respect him and in a few years when someone else says the same exact thing but they aren't labeled the way he is and you will all praise them! Kanye is years ahead of his time."