Kanye Tells Tucker Carlson He Wore The ‘WLM’ Shirt Because Its ‘Funny’
Kanye sat down with FOX's Tucker Carlson Thursday night (Oct. 6) and explained why he decided to include “White Lives Matter” in his newest YZY collection.
The rapper designed “White Lives Matter” shirts for his models walking in his YZY SZN 9 show that debuted in Paris on Monday (Oct. 3). Ye, who also wore the shirt, quickly received backlash on social media from the controversial phrase. He explained to Carlson that he wore the shirt because “it’s the obvious thing.”
“The answer to why I wrote ‘White Lives Matter’ on a shirt is because they do,” West said during the interview that aired Thursday.
Ye recalled a text conversation he had with his dad about the “White Lives Matter” shirt.
“I said, ‘I thought the shirt was a funny shirt; I thought the idea of me wearing it was funny.’ And I said, ‘Dad, why did you think it was funny?’ He said, ‘Just a Black man stating the obvious.'” West told Carlson.
Carlson then asked Kanye why he didn’t think the phrase was as controversial as people might think. Ye responded that he didn’t want to think the way the media wants him too.
“Because the same people that have stripped us of our identity and labeled us as a color, have told us what it means to be Black,” West said.
The phrase “White Lives Matter” is categorized as a “hate slogan” used by White supremacist groups that originated in 2105 as a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement, per The Anti-Defamation League.
In the interview, West also addressed his 2016 visit to President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York City. Two years after the visit he went to visit him as President where he infamously wore the “Make America Great Again” hat.
Ye said that he “started to really feel this need to express myself on another level when Trump was running for office and I liked him.”
He said he was told by multiple people “that if I said I liked Trump that my career would be over, my life would be over.”
“They said stuff like people get killed for wearing a hat like that, they threatened my life,” West said. “They basically said I would be killed for wearing the hat.”
Take a look at the interview below:
Kanye Responds To 'White Lives Matter' Shirt, Calls BLM A 'Scam'
