Even the uber-rich aren’t immune to the toll that political party lines can take on relationships: John Legend has admitted that his friendship with his formerly-frequent collaborator, Kanye West, dwindled largely due to the latter’s support of Donald Trump.
The “All of Me” singer spoke about the fallout on a new episode of The Axe Files podcast: “[Kanye and I] aren’t friends as much as we used to be,” Legend told host David Axelrod. “I honestly think because we publicly disagreed on his running for office, his supporting Trump, I think it became too much for us to sustain our friendship, honestly.”
Kanye and Legend go pretty far back: The former was one of the producers on Legend’s 2004 debut album Get Lifted, and even released the record on his own GOOD Music label. The pair have collaborated countless times since then, but despite years of supporting each other musically, Legend understandably couldn’t get behind Kanye’s failed 2020 presidential run: “I wasn’t alone in that, but, you know, he was not happy about that. And we really haven’t been close since then,” he added.
Though there’s plenty to dislike about Kanye, you gotta hand it to the man — he doesn’t seem like one to sugarcoat himself. “I think he’s been very open with who he is and his struggles with mental health,” Legend went on. “And he’s very real, honestly. So I think there’s not a lot about him that people don’t get… Like he’s been pretty upfront with his opinions, his struggles, all the things that he’s dealing with. And I think what you see with him is pretty much what you get.” Listen to Legend talk about Trump and Kanye below.
Kanye isn’t the only Trump supporter Legend has dismissed publicly recently. Back in May, the singer called on Fox News to de-platform commentator Tucker Carlson, saying his preaching of the Great Replacement Theory “poisons the minds of millions.” As for Kanye, he made a surprise appearance during Lil Durk’s Rolling Loud Miami set last month, despite dropped off the festival’s lineup just days earlier.