John Legend Says He & Kanye West Aren’t Close Friends: It’s Not Because Of Trump, We’re Doing Our Own Thing

John Legend Says He & Kanye West Aren’t Close Friends: It’s Not Because Of Trump, We’re Doing Our Own Thing

John Legend and Kanye West go way back, but the singer has revealed that they’re not as close as they once were. John Legend was one of Kanye West’s first signees to his label, G.O.O.D. Music, in the early 2000s – spawning John’s breakout album, Get Lifted. The two seemingly continued to collaborate and nurture a friendship, with John Legend even singing at Kanye West’s 2014 wedding to Kim Kardashian.

However, in his 2019 Vanity Fair cover story, John Legend revealed that he and Yeezy’s dynamics have changed:

“Kanye, if he’s for you, he’s a very ardent marketer and cheerleader…I think what was always challenging about it was Kanye has never been political. I don’t think he knows one way or another what policies of Trump’s he likes. He just kind of embraced Trump’s blow-it-all-up spirit and the energy of himself being counter-cultural in supporting him…I’m not trying to disown Kanye because I still love him and love everything we’ve done together creatively- but we were never the closest of friends.”

John is, now, doubling down on that statement. John insists Kanye West didn’t previously have controversial political views:

“[Kanye West] never talked about politics before. It was never a part of our interaction. Our interaction was almost always about creativity and music.”

Kanye Wes, Kim Kardashian, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend circa 2015

John Legend confirmed that he and Kanye are no longer close, but not because of his support for Trump:

“I don’t think we’re less friends because of the Trump thing, I just think we’re doing our own thing. He’s up in Wyoming. I’m here in L.A. We’ve both got growing families and I no longer have a formal business relationship with him as an artist, so I think it’s just part of the natural cycle of life…we’re in different places.”

Perhaps their April 2018 exchange was the nail in the coffin of their friendship. Kanye West tweeted screenshots of text messages between he and John Legend, in which he tried to convince Kanye to stop supporting Trump.

Are you surprised that John Legend and Kanye West are no longer close? Tell us in the comments!