Maybe we shouldn’t have been surprised by Kanye West’s political rant last Thursday. That’s sort of what TMZ said over the weekend – that Kanye and Donald Trump actually have a history of praising each other. At long last, we’ve found Donald Trump’s one black friend. And of course it’s Kanye. As we discussed on Friday, Kanye kept interrupting his concert to talk politics, and he said that if he would have voted (eyeroll), he would have voted for Trump. ‘Ye admires Trump… for reasons. But Kanye also noted in his speech:
“I wanted to say that before the election and they told me, ‘Do not say that out loud. Whatever you do, do not say that.’ That don’t mean that I don’t think that Black Lives Matter. That don’t mean I don’t think that I’m a believer in women’s rights. That don’t mean I don’t believe in gay marriage. That don’t mean that I don’t believe in these things because that was the guy I would have voted for…People got the right to vote for whoever they want to vote for. That’s the right to vote! That is our right!”
Again, no one is trying to take away Kanye’s right to vote, or his right to vote for whomever he wants. Literally no one said “Damn, I wish we could make it so Kanye couldn’t vote for Trump.” He was free to vote and he didn’t. We’re judging him because he claims to have liked what Trump said. We’re judging him because he didn’t get off his ass and vote. We’re judging him because not voting – and then publicly declaring that we wanted to vote for Trump – means that he actually doesn’t give a sh-t about women’s rights, BLM or LGBTQ rights. So, obviously, Kanye (and the Kardashians, I suspect) tried to do some damage control with this People Mag story:
Kanye West caused backlash on Thursday after he revealed that he would’ve cast his ballot for president-elect Donald Trump during his concert in San Jose, California. But there appears to be some misunderstanding in terms of West’s political message. West, 39, heard boos from the crowd after the admission, and continued his remarks, addressing racism, women’s rights, the Black Lives Matter movement and even Dave Chappelle.
“[Kanye]’s basically saying everyone has a right to their opinion and it’s important to have a dialogue about it. He was not espousing political views,” an insider tells PEOPLE. “It was strictly an egalitarian message. He was saying ‘Hey, let’s have a dialogue where everyone’s opinion is respected.’”
West, who famously announced that he’d run for president in the year 2020, met with Hillary Clinton and even posed for a selfie with the then-candidate and his wife. He also reportedly donated $1,000 to President Obama’s 2012 campaign and gave $15,000 to the Democratic National Committee in 2015.
As for if Kanye and Kim are having marital issues over varying political views, the source denies the rumors saying, “They are good. Kanye is on record having donated to Hillary’s campaign.”
Yeah, I still don’t get it. Kanye gave money to Hillary, he gave money to Obama, he gave money to the Democratic party… and he still would have voted for Trump, had he voted? I don’t get the twists and turns of Kanye’s inner dialogue at all.
Incidentally, after Kanye’s utter meltdown Saturday night in Sacramento, he suddenly canceled his LA show on Sunday. People really are wondering what’s going on with him.
I got my selfie!!! I really loved hearing her speak & hearing her goals for our country! #HillaryForPresident pic.twitter.com/zGpdcGSZBD
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) August 7, 2015
Photos courtesy of WENN.
He didn’t even bother to vote, so as far as I’m concerned he can see himself out. I generally find myself caring less and less about what Kanye says, but this irks me. Walk the walk, and then you can talk the talk.
Exactly my thought. In today’s episode of “No One Currrrr”…
He’s full of it. But of course black twitter threw him a party so that was fun.
Also Snoop’s videos from the concert had me dying
Any sentence that begins “If I had voted” doesn’t need to be finished.
I worry for the twenty somethings that think he’s the end all be all ( and I work with some) and follow is advice, and look up to this guy. Its scary.
His mother was a professor, why didn’t she teach him how to speak properly??
There are seriously people that look up to him? I’m a 20 something, and he’s honestly a joke to everyone I know. That makes me kind of sad.
I’m a big Kanye fan (he makes excellent music, can’t help it) and can assure you his fans are not taking this well. So much happened this past weekend:
-Cancelling the LA show with 3 hours notice.
-Spending 3 hours uploading weird clothing pics to instagram while cancellation notices were being sent.
-The Sacramento show was especially damning. The energy in that crowed was a bunch of people who have pretty much had it with the bullshit after the Trump stuff.
There seems to be a consensus that he has crossed a line. His fans, me included, are pissed.
I always wonder how many actual fans Kanye has. I know a lot of people who like his music (like myself), but I don’t know anyone who actually takes him seriously.
Well, I do know one guy from school. He’s one of this innate hipsters, and I think Kanye might be just that as well. He has no opinions of his own, he just goes against whatever the popular consensus is. This guy, for example, is one of those people defending Trump’s election right now and saying that reducing Trump’s campaign to racism and sexism is being “reductionist”. Because criticizing Trump is too mainstream.
I think that may be the case with Kanye tbh. I don’t think he even followed the political campaigns enough to know what he’s talking about. But he saw everyone was shitting on Trump so he came in his defense to be rebellious.
Why he thinks people attending a concert would welcome a non-stop political harangue is beyond me. Of course, why people are attending his concerts is beyond me, too.
He is clearly crazy and having a very public meltdown.
He cannot stand people who ignore him, his family or his opinions so he has to rant to those who have actually paid to see him sing and perform.
If I was the producer of his show I would be very very clear that he either pulls his shit together or he is out of the game.
Can you imagine what it means to cancel a show and refund all the tickets? So much money thrown away just because a lunatic can’t be a professional.
My favorite line was “He was saying ‘Hey, let’s have a dialogue where everyone’s opinion is respected.’”
Being on stage with a microphone is not a great way to have a dialogue.
Being an hour or more late and on a high stage, with all the lights, camera, and audio equipment focused on you while ranting to an audience that is paying to be there really cuts into the egalitarian message as well.
Did he come up with this PR spin? It makes no sense.
“That don’t mean I don’t think that I’m a believer in women’s rights. ”
He THINKS he is a believer, not that he actually IS a believer. Except he didn’t believe in the rights of the women he put in his rape fantasy video.
He’s mentally ill so half the stuff he says isn’t coherent or accurate. So I don’t take him seriously or get offended by him.
I honestly think he needs help or something. He really doesn’t seem to be forming coherent thoughts or even really know what’s going on. Reading his Twitter page for especially the last year is kind of scary.
Yeah, anytime in the last couple years people mention thinking he has some serious issues there is pushback against internet diagnosis, but I think it is pretty clear that he is going downhill. I hope he can get some help.
I think the help he needs is a big slap and losing a lot of money. To remember just for a minute what the world is like for the rest of the world.
I don’t think Kanye is ill. I just think he lives in a extremely small and sheltered bubble. He has tons of money and he has distanced himself from everyone who doesn’t like him as much as he likes himself. If everyone around you treats you like a God, are you mentally ill for starting to think you actually are one?
Yes, he is not mentally ill, just surrounded by yes men.
Celebrities shouldn’t be involved in politics.
Also, Kanye has lost his marbles and knows fuck all about politics or anything else.
He just loves the attention and the drama brought by the lack of it.
He needs to either A. go back to his meds, B. Grow up or C. A+B
Why not? They live, work and pay taxes in this country like the rest of us. They have every right to get involved and speak for what they believe in. I agree with the rest of it though.
Agreed.
It’s really weird that he thinks voting – if you get around to it – is just supporting your friend in a massive popularity contest with no other meaning in terms of suggesting that if they say all racisty stuff and you vote for them it means that you support all racisty stuff.
Note to Kanye – it’s not like that time that Trump got a member of staff to download the life of Pablo (but not transfer it to his ipod in case it played in his yacht rock mix). It’s not that kind of deal. It’s not payback for the like on Facebook.
Is it though? Being President seems to be talked about in the media and among the voting public as if it is a messed up beauty pageant where your answer to the questions and “talent” make up only part of your score. There is that stupid “you could grab a beer with him” category, There is ability to attract media attention, entertainment factor, charisma, ability to be an engaging speaker who is able to command and keep the attention of the audience, and if you’re a woman fashion and shrillness. In lower ballot, less publicized races you can get a ten point advantage if your name is first.
He thinks Mark Zuckerburg should give him a billion dollars so he can save the world. He can’t spend his money because he needs to buy houses and furs for his family. On Kanye’s crazy scale for me it doesn’t even move the needle.
As we say in the South: bless his heart.
As Miranda Lambert sings on her new album:
If you use alcohol as a sedative
And bless your heart as a negative
Well then, oh, we should be friends 🙂
He seems so needy for ‘certain’ peoples attention and validation. He completely loses when he feels ignored or shut out, like a child that wants your attention but cant express themselves. This is actually sad to watch,not even slightly amusing anymore.
I hope he finds the help he needs.
He hasn’t been right since his mother passed.
That’s my thought, too.
The man is clearly mentally ill. He’s unstable as hell and has two small children at home, and all anyone cares about is which candidate he would have hypothetically voted for if he voted, which he didn’t. Might as well ask him which of the voices is his favorite. I feel like that says a lot more about us than him.
Thank you.
Trying to figure this guy out is a waste of time. I really cannot stand him and get so irritated when people say he’s a genius. I don’t know if he’s just a spoiled brat or if he’s really got a problem. I don’t wish bad on anyone so I do hope he’s okay. I hope this is all for show and his mind is right. He’s got two small kids that need him.
Kim and Kanye may not be having martial problems over political issues, but something is going on. All these reports of Kayne acting erratic certainly would be brought up if(and when) a divorce happens. Never under estimate the Kardashians.
DId he give the money or did Kim give the money? Also, think he is just a spoiled brat that has been more enabled by the Kardashians because they love the publicity his rants bring. With Kim out of the picture for now someone has to bring in the publicity – good or bad.
According to Federal Election Commission,the individual contribution’s giver was listed as Kanye West.He gave $2700 in 2015 to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Thanks!
Because he realized (or more probably, they told him) what he said was utterly stupid and people would have called out the s*t of him on his next show, especially in LA.
He’s ruining himself with his own hands. I wonder why Jay-Z is staying away from him (ah!)..
I think the real reason he’s so #teamtrump now is to spite beyonce and Jay-Z because they were on Hilary’s side. And now that he’s mad at them, he’s trying everything to get a reaction.
Now that we live in a world where Trump can be president of the United States perhaps he thinks he really has a shot in 2020 and is trying to win over the Trump supporters. In Kanye’s mind if they’re willing to vote for Trump then why not him? It’s the only explanation I can think of.
Kim K did the same thing before voting and she received a huge backlash and she had to
clarify things” by “hey guuuysssss.. relaxxxxxx I’m with Clinton”. Maybe they did vote for Trump. nothing is written is stone. as they say in France “les apparences sont parfois trompeuses”. Sometimes you are wealthy race card and gender card go out of the window as well as common sense and the brain.
He gave money in 2015 but not 2016?
It could simply be that he changed his mind and political beliefs? It happens.
It’s funny how the statement is worded. It says that he gave money to Obama’s campaign and then he gave money to the Democrat Comitee. Isn’t that to the HC campaign?
Funny that he needs a sort of “translator/spokesperson. We had a president years ago that used to spew nonsense non stop. He had a spokesperson who usually began with” what the president meant to say was…” it became a national joke.
KW liking Trump, it would seem logical because they have similar egocentric, grandiose, unfiltered personas, but see who is Trump supported by, what many of them mean. It is unbelievable.
Apparently his whole tour is now cancelled. Ticketmaster also had to pay back money to the audience in sacramento. I don’t think people should continue pushing this idea that he is doing this for attention or is trolling. He is hurting his own business with this behaviour.
Question – is the rest of his tour the additional dates he added from the original ones or does it include dates from the original ones set?
Dates from the original.
I think it makes a lot of sense that Kanye would vote for Trump.
A) Both are men with extremely inflated egos who have spent their lives in extremely small and exclusive bubbles. Of course he thinks he’s a genius. I think Kanye might be even a little bit jealous of him, that Trump got to be the “celebrity president” before him.
B) Kanye West can afford to not vote, or to vote just out of friendship. For rich people like Kanye, the presidential elections are like the FIFA World Cup. All of the issues people are worried about under Trump’s government don’t apply to Kanye.
Soooo Im supposed to be going to see him Dec 4 with my cousin, I’m kinda salty/worried /annoyed, Once again gonna quote the Bodega Boys here in that , before we used to look forward to the rants, now we want him to just do the set no rant so we don’t have to further unlike you
That’s really me ^^ I want to have the music strictly but fear we’re in deep waters of … General unwellness, he doesn’t seem to have his sh*t together and whether that’s a General Tantrumy Kanye thing or something else we wont know for a while
QQ, this from Billboard: “After canceling his makeup show in Inglewood, Calif. on Sunday night (Nov. 20) and cutting his Sacramento show short over the weekend, Kanye West has officially canceled the remaining dates for his Saint Pablo tour, his rep confirmed to Billboard.”
Ohhh something is brewing.
Well… F*ck Me
@QQ, at least you found out more than 3 hours ahead of time! Maybe some good news – TMZ reports: “the source says West is planning to launch a second leg of the tour next year, he’s just not ready to announce dates yet.” So maybe you’ll be able to get tickets.
@me – let’s start a conspiracy theory – Kim jetted out this morning for an appearance in NYC tonight without Kanye – divorce? Just a theory!!!
After I saw your post I spoke to the good people at Ticketmaster, the money is being refunded, No I’m NOT trying to see Mr. Kardashian again
His thought process really is confusing. If he really cares about BLM and racism, women’s rights (despite all the misogynistic things he’s said over the years), and marriage equality, why would he vote for people who are active threats to all of those things to have more political power in this country? Why would he tell people of color to stop focusing so much on racism? Is he uninformed enough to not know about Trump being endorsed by the KKK and the hate crimes and harassment from his supporters directed at Muslims, people of color, and gay people? Or is he just willing to overlook that a little bit because of his ‘friendship’ with Trump and the fact that he knows that publicly supporting Trump will get him more attention?
I almost believe him when he says he’ll run for president in 2020 against Trump. (Ha, First lady Kim K). We liberals and democrats would probably have some strange feelings voting in that election.
I do think he is uninformed. Imagine the bubble he lives in, I seriously doubt he is tuned into real world events.
Voting for Trump doesn’t mean I don’t support black rights, women’s rights, or gay marriage. It just means I’m okay with a President who doesn’t support these things and will limit and reverse them. You know, cause he called me genius o Twitter once, and he’s a cool guy.
He’s wearing purple ! We must all follow his lead now so he can say he invented the color and made it popular.
At what point do we start worrying about Kanye’s mental health? No shade, a legit question about someone who is clearly going thru some things
For real. Kanye needs to get himself some help.
Tour cancelled, citing “exhaustion.”
Cancellations for “exhaustion” tend to be followed by hospitalizations or rehab stints. Just saying.
I’m not a Kanye fan, but he obviously needs help. He’s as unhinged as Trump is.
Billboard reports Kanye will have to refund over 27 million dollars.
Wow!
Don’t care about this spoiled probably mentally ill manchild, but wonder how much of this is his inability to be a supportive husband and father. His wife has obviously had some pretty severe reactions to her robbery trauma and this guy seems to be incapable of being an adult and not making it about himself. Maybe instead of having public tantrums and tanking your career, just do your thing, father your kids and STFU.
Tumblr says he was just hospitalized. May or not be true.
Appears to definitely be true as more media outlets are reporting it now. Some, but not all, are saying nervous breakdown. They’re now saying that he was taken against his will in handcuffs from his house and is being kept “for his own safety”… WOW. Hope he gets the help he needs and gets well soon.
True…I guess. For psych evaluation.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kanye-walks-west-s-saint-pablo-tour-cancelled-following-beyonc-n686856
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kanye-west-reportedly-hospitalized-in-los-angeles_us_5833a15de4b099512f84763d
All over the mainstream news now. Hospitalized at his doctor’s request and it wasn’t voluntary.
He must have done something that threatened to harm himself or others for an involuntary hospitalization for evaluation (undoubtedly a psych evaluation). He really has been deteriorating lately. Hope they find something that can be treated, although I’ve always suspected brain damage from that awful accident he had in the early part of this century.
Hopefully whatever is going on with him is brought under control.
Good for his doctor! That’s a tough call and apparently Kanye had to be handcuffed to the gurney in the ambulance. I have long suspected mental illness in this man.
As for Kim, I feel so very sorry for her right now. She flew to New York today and was to appear along with her family members at a charity event that would honor her late father. It was to be her first public appearance since the robbery in Paris.
So now she has to deal with her own PTSD, two small children, and her husband’s mental illness. I don’t envy her.
I suppose the only good thing in the whole mess is there are financial resources to pay for necessary treatment. Some people don’t even have that!
That Kardashian curse is real!!!!!!!!!!!!!