Kanye West Accuses John Legend of ‘Manipulating My Free Thought’

You can ask Kanye West to reconsider his opinion, but that doesn’t mean he will. The “Famous” rapper shared a screenshot of a conversation between him and his good friend John Legend, who asked West to walk back his previous statements about President Donald Trump.

“Hey it’s JL. I hope you’ll reconsider aligning yourself with Trump. You’re way too powerful and influential to endorse who he is and what he stands for,” the “All of Me” singer wrote.

“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 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,” Legend said.

In his response, West wrote that although he “loves” Legend, he accused him of “manipulating his free thought.”

“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,” he said.

About half an hour later, West tweeted that he shared his conversation with Legend “to show that there are people around me that disagree with me and voice their opinion. I respect everyone’s opinion but I stand my ground.”

“If you feel something don’t let peer pressure manipulate you,” West wrote.

Ten minutes later, he shared another screenshot of the conversation with Legend’s response.

“Think freely. Think with empathy and context too. Your words and actions have consequences. Much love,” he wrote. “And since you’re posting texts, let me add thatI have a new single out haha.”

“Haha [laughing emoji] I love you John,” West wrote.

In another tweet, West wrote, “I really appreciate this dialogue with John Legend because I’m actually very empathetic. Im still the kid from the telethon. I feel when people think of MAGA they don’t think of empathy.”

He later wrote, “John Legend new single on line now [laughing emoji].”

Backlash has ensued against West ever since he returned to social media with a vengeance, sharing his philosophical and political thoughts with his nearly 30 million followers, including support for Trump.

“You don’t have to agree with Trump, but the mob can’t make me not love him,” West wrote Wednesday. “We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don’t agree with everything anyone does. That’s what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.”

Trump responded positively to the shoutout from West and quote retweeted the message from his official account.

“Thank you Kanye, very cool!” Trump wrote.

West has said he did not vote in the 2016 presidential election but would’ve voted for Trump. He apparently didn’t see Trump’s response right away, but someone showed it to him via an Instagram post, which West later tweeted an image of.

Amid his political posts, West even posted a photo of himself wearing one of Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” caps, and even proudly showed off the fact that the hat was signed by POTUS himself.

In an interview with Fox & Friends on Thursday, Trump praised West for having “good taste” for supporting the president. The president said that he knew the rapper “a little bit” and always got along with him, and said that West has noticed the low unemployment rate for black Americans.

“He sees that stuff and he’s smart and he says, ‘you know what, Trump is doing a much better job than the Democrats did,’” the president said.