Kanye West was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday night. The appearance came at Kanye’s request, Kimmel explained before bringing out Kanye for a three-segment interview. Their conversation ran the gamut of topics, including Kanye’s latest album, ye, his billion-dollar fashion company, and his bipolar disorder. Kanye also spoke about his controversial comments in support of Donald Trump, as well as the now-infamous TMZ interview during which he said “slavery was a choice.”
“Just as a musician, African-American… everyone around me tried to pick my candidate for me. And then told me every time I said I liked Trump that I couldn’t say it out loud or my career would be over,” Kanye West explained. “I’d get kicked out of the black community because blacks — we’re supposed to have a monolithic thought, we can only like, we can only be Democrats and all.” He said that it took him over a year to regain his confidence following his 2016 hospitalization, and that him wearing a MAGA hat was “overcoming fear.” He added, “Liberals can’t bully me, news can’t bully me, the hip-hop community, they can’t bully me. Because at that point, if I’m afraid to be me, I’m no longer Ye. That’s what makes Ye.”
However, when challenged by Kimmel to defend Trump’s policies, Kanye was lost for words. “You famously said George Bush doesn’t care about black people. It makes me wonder what makes you think Donald Trump does, or any people at all?” Kimmel asked, pointing to Trump’s policy of separating children at the border. Kanye sat speechless for several seconds, prompting Kimmel to go to commercial. When they returned from the break, Kimmel moved on to an entirely different topic.
Update: As expected, Kanye’s silence on the matter went over well with Trump:
Update #2: In a follow-up tweet, Kanye said he “wasn’t given a chance to answer the question,” adding. “The question was so important I took time to think. And then I was hit with the let’s go to commercial break. The interview showed strong personalities with different opinions having a civil conversation.”
One thing Kanye wasn’t lost for words about? His porno viewing habits. When Kimmel asked if having daughters “changed your attitude toward women?” Kanye responded, “Nah, I still look at Pornhub and stuff” before offering to break down his favorite porno categories (including black and white couples).
Replay the full interview below.
