John Legend says his friendship with Kanye West dissolved because of who JL supported in the 2020 election — not so much who Ye’s supported of late … namely, Donald Trump.
The singer did an interview with the New Yorker this weekend, and they covered a range of topics — but the most interesting, perhaps, was when they talked Kanye and why he and John aren’t cool anymore … something many just chalked up to differing politics.
My favorite interview in a while. In-depth and honest. Thank you, Michael https://t.co/3S7eI1yB4w
— John Legend (@johnlegend) September 4, 2022
@johnlegend
That’s not exactly what ruined things, though, according to John … who explains that he doesn’t just burn bridges because of who someone votes for, but more so the why.
He says, “I don’t feel like politics should be everything in your relationships, and your relationships with people shouldn’t only be determined by who they voted for. But I do believe that certain things you believe in are indicators of your character, and obviously that will affect your friendships.”
John continues … “I don’t want to live a life that’s so consumed by politics that it’s the sole determinant of who can be my friend and who can’t. But values matter and character matters and moral compass matters.”
While JL was speaking somewhat broadly here, this answer immediately followed one he gave about Kanye specifically — so you gotta figure this applies to his old buddy too.
But on why he and Ye aren’t cool anymore, explicitly, John says it’s more about the fact he didn’t get behind KW’s presidential campaign … but, instead, cosigned Joe Biden/Kamala Harris. Apparently, Kanye took great offense to that — seeing it as a personal betrayal.
John says it’s up to Kanye if he wants to bury the hatchet. One last thing — he says Ye’s habit of posting private texts is a non-starter, and he’s also disappointed that the guy was apparently being used as a pawn in 2020, reportedly by bad actors with ulterior motives.