Kanye West and Donald Trump were one of the most unlikely pairs to ever become good friends, yet it happened, and as a result, caused a media frenzy with many people turning against Kanye West for his friendship with Trump and his continued support of the president.

Many people were shocked when Kanye revealed his friendship and support for Donald Trump and would regularly be seen wearing one of Donald Trump’s trademarked ‘Make America Great Again’ hats on various occasions. However, many people took offense to this and even came out publicly slating Kanye West for his choice in getting close to the president.

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The History Behind Kanye West’s And Donald Trump’s Friendship

First, we will start off by looking back at the origins of Kanye West and Donald Trump’s friendship and the reasons why this odd coupling even came about in the first place.

It all started when Kanye met up with Donald Trump at The White House back in 2018, Kanye had previously shown support for Trump on his Twitter, including releasing a photo of himself wearing the famous MAGA hat and this eventually lead to the outspoken rapper getting a special meeting with the president.

This support from Kanye on Twitter and the eventual meeting, however, did not go down well on social media, with many voices calling for Kanye to be banned with a sea of memes calling for his cancellation. On the flip-side, there was also a lot of support for Kanye due to his outspoken views on the president gaining him an all-new kind of following.

West continued to support Donald Trump over the years, even going on a pro-Trump rant in 2018 once he was off-air on his SNL appearance. West stated:

“If someone inspires me and I connect with them, I don’t have to believe in all their policies.”

This shows that Kanye is very dedicated to his beliefs about Donald Trump and is not prepared to censor himself for the media. Which has gained him a lot of praise for his outspoken views from political commentators such as Ben Shapiro. However, at the same time, this has caused Kanye West to lose respect in the music industry, which could have a big effect on the rapper’s future music career.

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How This Has Affected Kanye’s Reputation In The Music Industry

Many people in the music industry have taken offense to Kanye’s unwavering support of Trump, but one person, in particular, has come out and publicly spoken out against his former friend Kanye. And that is non-other than John Legend.

John Legend and Kanye West used to be good friends, but West’s continued support of Trump publicly seems to have caused a rift between the two that looks destined to ruin their friendship for good. Although Legend claims West’s views are not the reason they have fallen out, it seems very likely that it was, in fact, his views that have caused the monumental fallout.

Legend has gone on the record to say that Kanye has ‘betrayed’ him for his continuing support of Trump and his loyalty to him and that he has also betrayed his fans and his legacy because of this.

John Legend then went on to warn Kanye West about his support of Donald Trump in a series of private messages that Kanye West later screenshotted and released on his Twitter. John Legend’s message read:

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"Hey it's JL. I hope you'll reconsider aligning [sic] yourself with Trump. You're way too 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.”

Legend then went on to state:

"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."

Very strong words of warning from Legend, but Kanye did not exactly appreciate the advice John Legend had given him and had his own trademark Kanye rebuttal:

"I love you John and I appreciate your thoughts," Kanye responded:

"You bringing up my fans or my legacy is a tactic based on fear used to manipulate my free thought."

A year after these messages were made public, Kanye West and John Legend have not reconciled their friendship together and both continue to go their separate ways. However, Legend still feels like his messages to Kanye were correct and that if he continues to publicly support Donald Trump, he will alienate over people in the industry as well as his fan base.

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