John Legend believes Kanye West's support of Donald Trump was motivated by him viewing the former U.S. President as a "narcissist underdog".
In a conversation with author Danny Goldberg, the 42-year-old singer was asked about West's political turn in 2016, where he openly supported former U.S. President Donald Trump following his win in the presidential election.
"I don't see Kanye as a political person at all. We never talked about politics. He had never voted before 2020," Legend told Goldberg.
Despite not being involved in politics before, Legend theorised West's support of Trump was due to parallels with his own life.
"He saw in Trump the kind of underdog narcissist that he sees in himself," he explained.
Though the two artists had been friends for years - Legend attended West and Kim Kardashian's wedding in 2014 - he revealed the relationship changed over time. In 2018, the Donda hitmaker and Legend clashed over political differences after the rapper shared screenshots of a private conversation between the two on Twitter.
"Hey it's JL. I hope you'll reconsider aligning yourself with Trump," the All of Me hitmaker wrote to West at the time, according to the screenshots. "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. 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 colour. Don't let this be part of your legacy. You're the greatest artist of our generation."
In the conversation, West - who recently legally changed his name to Ye - accused the singer of trying to "manipulate my 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 replied.
