2 July 2025
John Legend has responded to Kanye West’s recent bizarre insults, describing the remarks as “sad”.
John Legend has responded to Kanye West’s recent bizarre insults, describing the remarks as ‘sad’
The singer hit back at the rapper, 48, after he sparked controversy in a March interview with DJ Akademiks, during which he wore a Ku Klux Klan outfit and launched a rant including the line: “Look at John Legend’s old sissy a**.”
Kanye went on: “I ain’t never do nothing wrong to that n****. I changed generations of his life. And he got on that f****** ass hot sweater. They said he smells like mashed potatoes.”
While reflecting on their past collaboration during an appearance on Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning radio show, John, 46, tackled Kanye’s fixation on his appearance.
The crooner said: “He was very obsessed with me wearing sweaters. He was very obsessed with the sweaters, and he said I smelled like mashed potatoes. “What kind of potatoes? Cheesy, garlic?”
When host Peter Rosenberg asked John if Kanye’s remarks “offended” or made him “sad,” John replied: “All of it makes (him) sad. All of it. Not for me, though, because obviously, I smell great.”
Peter agreed, confirming John “smells fantastic”.
“It never affects me personally, but the whole story is sad,” John added.
He went on: “Like, seeing this guy praise Hitler, seeing this guy be this force of hate and vitriol and nastiness. Somebody who has made some of the great art of this century as an artist, as a performer, as a fashion designer.
“All the things that he’s done to make the world more beautiful and more interesting and then for him to be this now is sad. It’s just sad.”
John also insisted he “never saw this side of (Kanye) that was obsessed with Hitler” and had “no idea” the rapper felt this way.
“I have friends that I talk about politics with all the time; he was never one of them,” John said.
He added: “He just never talked about it in conversation. What a time, what a time.”
Asked to describe the “old Kanye” with whom he worked on several tracks, John said: “He was full of so much energy and creativity and optimism.”
“We really believed we were starting a new movement in music.
“Being a part of that was inspiring and thrilling. That’s why it’s sad now because we did amazing things together as a collective.
“I have no regrets because even though he’s gone completely left now, I’m so glad we did what we did together.”
The pair collaborated on multiple songs early in their careers, with John’s soulful style complementing Kanye’s innovative production.
