Kanye West accused John Legend of trying to manipulate his free thought.
Kanye West let John Legend know he means business when he supports President Donald Trump.
The controversial rapper tweeted a screenshot on Thursday of a private conversation he had with the singer, blasting his longtime friend for using “a tactic based on fear” to criticize West's praise of Trump.
Legend, an outspoken liberal, apparently texted West to express concern over his recent pro-Trump rhetoric. “I hope you’ll reconsider aligning yourself with Trump,” Legend said.
“You’re way too influential to endorse who he is and what he stands for. As you know, what you say really means something to your fans,” Legend continued. “They respect your opinion. So many people who love you feel so betrayed right now because they know the harm that Trump’s policies cause, especially to people of color. Don’t let this be part of your legacy.”
West, who has been on a Twitter rampage this week, responded and then took a screen grab of the conversation and shared it with his 27.9 million Twitter followers.
"You bringing up my fans or my legacy is a tactic based on fear used to manipulate my free thought."
“I love you John and I appreciate your thoughts. You bringing up my fans or my legacy is a tactic based on fear used to manipulate my free thought,” West responded.
Legend replied, telling West that his “words and actions have consequences” before joking, “Since you’re posting texts, let me add that I have a new single out.”
All appears to be well between the longtime friends and collaborators despite the political differences. West ended the conversation by telling Legend that he loves him and eventually tweeted a plug for his new single.
“I really appreciate this dialogue with John Legend because I'm actually very empathetic. Im still the kid from the telethon. I feel when people think of MAGA they don't think of empathy,” West tweeted shortly after he shared the conversation with Legend. “This is year one. We can't ad empathy to MAGA by hating. We can only ad empathy with love and time and truly hearing all sides.”
The rapper said he shared the conversation to “show that there are people around me that disagree with me and voice their opinion,” adding, “I stand my ground.”
“You don’t have to agree with trump but the mob can’t make me not love him,"
West sent dozens of politically charged tweets over the past few days, including a dig at President Obama and numerous pro-Trump messages.
“You don’t have to agree with trump but the mob can’t make me not love him,” West tweeted.
“We are both dragon energy,” he continued. “He is my brother. I love everyone. I don’t agree with everything anyone does. That’s what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.”
Kanye West has been attacked by liberals for supporting President Trump.
He also shared a photo of a “Make America Great Again” hat, which appeared to be signed by the president. The president took to Twitter to thank the rapper for the praise, adding, “very cool!”
Legend first reacted to West’s tweetstorm on Wednesday.
“I love that great, brilliant artists have the power to imagine a better future. But artists can't be blind to the truth,” Legend tweeted. “The defining trait of Trump's campaign and political profile was his embrace of white supremacy. He made it clear every time he spoke. Some serious cognitive dissonance to ignore that for the other x% you might find appealing. I guess I agree with >1% of anyone's thoughts though.”
The posts were preceded by other comments he made. “I imagine there’s some comfort in imagining a future without racism and projecting that onto the present. Thinking if we just deny the truth, it doesn’t exist.”
Fox News’ Elizabeth Zwirz contributed to this report.
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