Kanye West tweeted a heavily marked-up Bible verse on Sunday night, and fans could not help but notice he posted it right as Taylor Swift was winning the Artist of the Decade Award at the AMAs. The rapper has a complicated history with Swift and with award shows, but he is putting all of his focus and energy on his spirituality this days. Fans wondered what Sunday’s selection was meant to say.
West posted several pictures of Bible pages on Sunday night in the middle of the American Music Awards of 2019. The book was open to Daniel, and West had covered the pages in highlighter marks, notations and asterisks.
Videos by PopCulture.com
By all appearances, the verse was an apocalyptic one, concerned with “The Fiery Furnace” and the worship of false idols. Most Biblical scholars agree that this is a dark passage. It describes the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzer experiencing a vision of hell, where people are burned for eternity but never allowed to die.
This story clearly resonates with West, who has reportedly written an opera based on the Book of Daniel. According to Pitchfork, West’s opera “recounts Nebuchadnezzar’s transition from wicked, imperious, self-declared ruler to a true believer who finds salvation in his faith.”
The opera premiered this Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. It could be that West was just sharing his material online this weekend, but it was hard for fans not to connect this tweet to the AMAs, as they were happening at the same time.
Some speculated that West was implying some cyclical, hellish future for those engaged in the award show culture, while others figured he was thinking more about himself. Some even noted that the tweet at almost the same time as Taylor Swift accepting her award for Artist of the Decade.
— ye (@kanyewest) November 25, 2019
This would not be the first time West interrupted Swift at an awards show. At the 2009 VMAs, West rushed the stage during Swift’s acceptance speech, snatching the microphone and saying that her fellow nominee Beyonce had a great video as well. The moment became a cultural touchstone, and while West and Swift are reportedly on good terms now, fans have never forgotten that uncomfortable moment between them.
It was also worth noting that West tweeted a photo of Chance the Rapper shortly before his Bible picture spree began. Chance, too was left off the AMAs’ nomination list this year, and he is also an outspoken and devout Christian. It could be that the two just happened to get together on Sunday while the rest of the industry was gathered in one theater, or it could have been planned.
