“He’s definitely changed, and a lot of us who have known him over the years are really concerned about it,” Legend said of West during an episode of the On with Kara Swisher podcast
John Legend is opening up about his relationship with collaborator Kanye West following the rapper’s recent series of anti-semitic comments.
During a Thursday appearance on New York Magazine’s podcast, On with Kara Swisher, Legend reflected on the West he once knew — and whether he thinks he deserves a second chance.
“I do find him different than he was back then,” Legend, 43, told the host of West, 45, who he worked with on the albums The College Dropout and Get Lifted. “I didn’t see hints of this kind of harmful behavior back then but, you know, I think life happens to people, and I think the death of his mother probably had something to do with this.”
He continued, “I don’t want to play armchair psychologist, but he’s definitely changed, and a lot of us who have known him over the years are really concerned about it.”
Later, the host asked whether Legend was still in touch with the “Flashing Lights” rapper — and if he was making an effort to get him help.
“Well, I know people in his life that are, but we have lost touch,” he said. “We have not been friends for a while now, and so I’m not personally doing anything, but I do know people who are, and a lot of people are concerned about him.”
Last month, West shared in now-deleted social media posts that he wanted to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”
After he shared the antisemitic comments, Instagram restricted his account and deleted content from his page after he violated the social media platform’s rules and guidelines, according to NBC News and CNN, although a Meta spokesperson did not confirm to either outlet what content violated their rules.
His Twitter account was later restricted after one of his tweets violated the company’s rules. The American Jewish Committee (AJC) also called out West’s language for perpetuating “antisemitic tropes like greed and control,” writing in a statement: “Kanye West should figure out how to make a point without using antisemitism. Over the last week, the musician has fomented hatred of Jews.”
West appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Oct. 19, and when pushed by the British host about his “racist” comments that “insult the Jewish people,” the rapper said multiple times he was “absolutely not” sorry for what he said.
“So you said it knowing it’s racist?” Morgan asked, to which West replied: “Yes. I fought fire with fire.”
Later in the interview, West offered an apology. “I will say I’m sorry for the people that I hurt,” he said. “I feel like I cause hurt and confusion, and I’m sorry for the families of the people that had nothing to do with the trauma that I had been through and that I use my platform where you say, ‘Hurt people hurt people,’ and I was hurt.”
In the interview with Swisher, however, Legend condemned anti-Semitism, saying “we need to be clear about how insidious and nasty anti-Semitism is and has been for centuries.”
“It’s cropped up in societies all over the world, and it’s made life very difficult for Jews all over the world for a long time,” said Legend. “And it is not some news discovery. It’s not some innovation in hate.”
Still, Legend added that there’s “always a place for forgiveness.”
“I believe that the forgiver needs to forgive, you know? Like it’s better for you, the person that feels like they’ve been harmed, to be able to forgive,” he said. “Because if you can’t do that, it’s a weight on your life. And so I believe in forgiveness in general. That doesn’t mean people shouldn’t face consequences for what they do wrong, but I also do believe in forgiveness.”
Legend was one of the many celebrities who spoke out following West’s antisemitic comments on social media.
Legend did not mention his former friend by name, but alluded to the comments on Twitter on Oct. 9, writing, “Weird how all these ‘free, independent thinkers’ always land at the same old anti blackness and anti semitism.”
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