John Legend believes Kanye West has been “seduced” by President Donald Trump’s personal brand.
The All of Me hitmaker is a fierce opponent of the U.S. leader’s divisive policies regarding hot button topics such as immigration, whereas his old pal Kanye takes pride in wearing Trump’s Make America Great Again hat and has gushed about how much he “loves” the president during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House.
“Yeah. It’s all very disconcerting,” Oscar-winner John responded when questioned about the Gold Digger hitmaker by Heat magazine. “I think the bottom line is, Kanye’s been seduced by the marketing appeal, the persona of Trump that reminds him so much of himself.”
The 39-year-old went on to explain that he’s unsure if Kanye even understands “what Trump’s policies are,” adding: “...I think he sees a lot of himself in Trump, and he admires that. And it’s unfortunate.”
The pair have been pals for years, with Kanye helping John to sign his first record deal back in 2004.
However, that hasn’t stopped John from telling the 41-year-old rapper, who is married to Kim Kardashian and has previously declared he has bipolar disorder, how he feels about his endorsement of Trump.
Earlier this year, the pair clashed in a heated private text exchange, which Kanye subsequently posted online without John's prior knowledge.
"Clearly I disagreed with some of the things he (Kanye) was saying, and I was worried that his saying it might empower some of the wrong forces, might be really demoralising for people who looked up to him and thought of him as a leader," John explained in an interview with WSJ. Magazine in June.
"My point to him was that when you wear that hat, when you appear to be endorsing him (Trump), you're endorsing his policies as well, all of his rhetoric and not just the parts you like.”
