UPDATED 10/30/19, 10:35 p.m. ET: John Legend took to Twitter to clarify the comments he made about Kanye West during the December edition of Vanity Fair. The singer said that he wasn't trying to "sound like I'm trying to disown him" over their disagreements about politics.
"I get why people want to make this a thing," Legend said. "But I was explaining to the reporter how I've seen people I love reacting to the deaths of their mothers. I was thinking specifically of my own mom, Chrissy's mom and others." He continued: "Then she asked me if I was referring to Kanye as well after Dr West died. And I told her I wasn't really in a position to say because while Kanye have a long friendship and have a made a lot of great music, we weren't close on the level of confiding in each other about grief."
I get why people want to make this a thing. But I was explaining to the reporter how I've seen people I love reacting to the deaths of their mothers. I was thinking specifically of my own mom, Chrissy's mom and others. https://t.co/zbutvJ6MgU
Then she asked me if I was referring to Kanye as well after Dr West died. And I told her I wasn't really in a position to say because while Kanye have a long friendship and have a made a lot of great music, we weren't close on the level of confiding in each other about grief
As I said then, I don't want this to sound like I'm trying to disown him now that we've publicly and privately disagreed about politics, etc. It was just clarifying that I had no private knowledge that equipped me to speculate on his grieving process and how that related to mine
Should say "Kanye and I" in that second tweet
See original story below.
John Legend's career will forever be linked to Kanye West and G.O.O.D. Music. But just because they were magical creative partners doesn't mean they were best friends.
Legend and Chrissy Teigen are featured in the December edition of Vanity Fair. During the cover story, Legend distances himself from West. "I’m not trying to disown Kanye because I still love him and love everything we’ve done together creatively," Legend said. "But we were never the closest of friends."
Legend went on to denounce West's support of Donald Trump. The singer believes Ye doesn't have enough political awareness to separate the President's personality from his policies. "I think what was always challenging about it was Kanye has never been political," Legend continued. "I don’t think he knows one way or another what policies of Trump’s he likes. He just kind of embraced Trump’s blow-it-all-up spirit and the energy of himself being countercultural in supporting him."
In April of 2018, Kanye unleashed a series of tweets that affirmed his affinity for Trump. Legend was one of the several artists that personally reached out to West in hopes to educate the rapper on why his stance is detrimental. Yeezy decided to post these personal conversations on Twitter to show his followers that his colleagues are trying to infringe on his right to free thought.
West has since deleted these screenshots, but Legend responded to the invasion of privacy with a thread of his own. "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," Legend tweeted. "I love that great, brilliant artists have the power to imagine a better future. But artists can't be blind to the truth."
Instead of trying to force relationships with other celebrities, Legend and Teigen claim that their closest friends are people they knew before their fame. Legend tells the publication that he has spirited chats about daily news with old co-workers from his time as a consultant and participates in two fantasy football leagues. As for Teigen, she keeps her friends and family close through a series of group chats that she describes as a "text commune."
