John Legend criticises Kanye West’s “anti-blackness and antisemitism”

John Legend has hit out at Kanye West after the rapper shared a series of antisemitic posts over the weekend.

Last Sunday (October 9), ), West had both his Twitter and Instagram accounts suspended after posting antisemitic comments on the platforms. A spokesperson from Twitter told BuzzFeed News that “the account in question has been locked due to a violation of Twitter’s policies”.

Numerous artists, celebrities, politicians and organisations have since criticised West over his remarks, including Jack Antonoff, Jamie Lee Curtis, and New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Prospective Twitter owner Elon Musk, meanwhile, said that he has talked to West and “expressed [his] concerns about his recent tweet, which I think he took to heart”.

Last week, West courted more controversy after he wore a shirt emblazoned with the slogan ‘White Lives Matter’ at Paris Fashion Week.

Taking to Twitter yesterday (October 10), John Legend – who has collaborated with West on multiple occasions in the past – wrote: “Weird how all these ‘free, independent thinkers’ always land at the same old anti blackness and anti semitism.”

You can see that tweet beneath.

Weird how all these “free, independent thinkers” always land at the same old anti blackness and anti semitism.

— John Legend (@johnlegend) October 10, 2022

Last month, Legend clarified the reason why he is no longer close friends with West. He had previously explained that the pair’s differing political views proved to be too much to maintain their relationship.

“I don’t know what will happen in the future, but he was very upset with me that I didn’t support him and I supported Joe Biden [in the US presidential election]. It’s up to him whether he can get past that,” Legend said.

While the musician said he doesn’t believe that holding similar political views “should be everything” within personal relationships, he explained how he does think “certain things you believe in are indicators of your character, and obviously that will affect your friendship”.