Tucker Carlson spoke to Kanye West about the controversy he’s making about his ‘White Lives Matter’ shirt

CNN
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Kanye West has He explained the thinking behind his decision to dress himself and several black supermodels in “White Lives Matter” T-shirts earlier this week.

West, who legally changed his name to “Ye,” told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he wore it because it was an “obvious thing.”

“The answer to why I write ‘White Lives Matter’ on a T-shirt is that they do,” West said during the interview that aired Thursday.

The artist/designer/instigator has faced backlash since he wore the shirt during a surprise catwalk event during Paris Fashion Week.

West recalled a text conversation he had with his father about the controversial statement.

“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 do you think it was funny?’ He said, ‘Just a black guy saying the obvious.’” West said to Carlson.

When Carlson West pushed for why he thinks people consider it a controversial statement, West said it’s because he’s not acting in a way that the media think he should.

“Because the same people who stripped us of our identity and labeled us color told us what it means to be black,” West said.

The Anti-Defamation League classifies the phrase “White Lives Matter” as a “hate slogan” used by white supremacist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan.

It’s the latest incident that led to the criticism, and West has also addressed some of that.

In 2016, he met then-President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York City, and two years later West visited him at the White House and wears a MAGA hat.

These two events caused a lot of outrage, telling West Carlson that he “started to really feel this need to express myself on another level when Trump was running for president and I loved him.”

He said he was told by several people “If I say I love Trump my career is going to end, my life is going to be over.”

“They said people like people are being killed for wearing a hat like that, they threatened my life,” West said. “They basically said I’m going to kill for wearing the hat.”

The Grammy winner also covered other topics, including anti-abortion, his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and his thoughts on higher education in the black community.

The conversation was part of a larger interview that appeared on Carlson’s Show. Carlson said more interviews will be broadcast on Friday evening.