Kanye West’s MAGA Meltdown Ensnares John Legend

Kanye West sure knows how to dominate the headlines.

After an 11-month absence from Twitter, the rapper returned to the social network last week and has since taken it by storm, claiming not only to be writing a “philosophy” book “in real time,” but also that he had two new albums set to drop in June.

Then things took a turn for the truly bizarre.

Though the excitement surrounding West’s announcements and increased public output largely overshadowed his previous support for President Trump, his tweets this week showed signs of the rapper becoming full-on Trumpkin. What many assumed to be part of Kanye’s usual brand of contrived provocation soon began to sour as the artist, known previously for championing liberal causes, confirmed his support for what were ostensibly his political opposites; both the president and anti-Black Lives Matter activist Candace Owens.

With these revelations, in addition to those that West not only signed his own merchandise with “Trump” following the election, but is also the proud owner of a MAGA hat signed by the president himself, he has become something of a free-speech darling for the same far-right media that often derided him in the past.

Many onlookers wondered whether Yeezy’s more liberal celebrity pals might attempt to stage an intervention. His wife, Kim Kardashian West, defended Kanye’s right-wing outbursts, saying he was just “expressing” himself.

But what about his musical colleagues? West ended any question of whether his artist pals were worried when on Thursday he posted a screenshot of a text he received from pop-star friend John Legend.

It seems as though that exchange weighed heavily on the rapper’s mind, as West seemingly alluded to it in a tweet on Wednesday night:

Star model Chrissy Teigen, Legend’s wife, was quick to wittily respond to those asking her for additional comment:

The thought of a new, ugly beef between West and Legend, was thankfully settled by West’s follow-up tweet showing the rest of his text conversation with the pop star. In response to Yeezy’s comment about “fear tactics,” Legend calmly encouraged his pal to “Think freely. Think with empathy and context too. Your words and actions have consequences. Much love.”

And then Legend jokingly slid in some self-promotion: “And since you’re posting these texts, let me add that I have a new single out haha.”

“Haha,” West replied. “I love you John.”