Kanye West.Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty
Kanye Westis doubling down on his latest controversial fashion statement.
The Grammy Award winner, 45, defended his decision towear a “White Lives Matter” shirtat his recent Yeezy Season 9 presentation during Paris Fashion Week as he appeared Thursday on Fox News’Tucker Carlson Tonight.
“I do certain things from a feeling, I just channel the energy. It just feels right. It’s using a gut instinct, a connection with God, and just brilliance,” West explained of the creative choice.
He recounted his father Ray West’s reaction to the shirt, which right-wing punditCandace Owensalso wore in a backstage photo with West.
“You know, my dad is an educated ex-Black Panther, and he put in a text to me today, he said, ‘White Lives Matter. Ha ha ha ha ha,’ " he recalled. “And I said, ‘I thought the shirt was a funny shirt. I thought the idea of me wearing it was funny.’ And I said, ‘Dad, why do you think it was funny?’ He said, ‘Just a Black man stating the obvious.’ "
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TheDondaartist continued: “That [was] my favorite response. Cause … people, they’re looking for an explanation, and people say, ‘Well, as an artist you don’t have to give an explanation,’ but as a leader, you do.”
“So the answer to why I wrote White Lives Matter on a shirt is because they do. It’s the obvious thing,” West said.
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President Donald Trump hugs Kanye West during a visit to the White House in October 2018.Oliver Contreras - Pool/Getty
West, who previouslyfaced criticism over his supportforDonald Trump, also claimed he faced death threats for wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, while his ex-wifeKim Kardashianand her motherKris Jennerallegedly attempted to censor his political opinions.
“I started to really feel this need to express myself on another level when Trump was running for office and I liked him,” he explained. “And every single person in Hollywood, from my ex-wife to my mother-in-law, to my manager at that time, to my so-called friends/handlers around me, told me if I said that I like Trump, that my career would be over, my life would be over.
“They said stuff like, ‘People get killed for wearing a hat like that.’ They threatened my life … they basically said that I would be killed for wearing the hat. I had someone call me last night and said, ‘Anybody wearing a White Lives Matter shirt is gonna be greenlit, and that means they’re gonna beat them up if they wear it. And I’m like, ‘OK, greenlight me then,’ " West added.
The second part of West’sTucker Carlson Tonightinterview airs Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox News.
source: people.com
