The second leg of Kanye West’s Saint Pablo tour kicked off in California on Thursday night, but the 39-year-old rapper arrived late. And instead of immediately jumping into his set list, West opted to rant about this year’s presidential election in an incredibly controversial way.
“I told y’all I didn’t vote, right? But if I were to vote, I would have voted on Trump,” he told the crowd, who immediately began booing him.
He continued to talk about why he supported the president-elect before transitioning into his song, Heartless.
“Whether you voted for Hillary or Trump, this is a safe space for both of you,” he told the audience, asking any Trump voters to make themselves known.
The rapper explained what appealed to him about Trump’s campaign.
“There’s methods, non-political methods to speaking, that I like, that I feel were very futuristic. That style and method of communication has proven that it can be a politically correct way of communication. And I f**k with that.”
The audience objected to his statements so loudly he actually had to stop the performance moments in.
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He went on to call out last week’s Saturday Night Live host Dave Chappelle saying, “Dave Chapelle, it’s OK. We can have opinions as celebrities. I know you said we couldn’t, but thank you for breaking the ice on a mentality of a generation.”
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West also generated audible opposition when he started talking about racism (a notable issue over the course of the recent U.S. presidential campaign).
“Specifically to black people, stop focusing on racism. This world is racist, OK? Let’s stop being distracted to focus on that as much. It’s just a f**king fact. We are in a racist country. Period… Not one or the other candidate was going to instantly change that.”
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Fans did not like that.
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What makes West’s statements all the more controversial is the fact they’re not very presidential – and he’s publicly stated he wants to run for president in 2020.
Barack Obama has even gone on to offer the rapper some advice saying it’s important he keep his “rants” in check. He also offered up this tip:
“You’ve got to spend a lot of time dealing with some strange characters who behave like they’re on a reality TV show,” Obama continued. “So you’ve just to be cool with that.” (Editor’s note: since Yeezy is married to one of the biggest reality television stars of our time, Kim Kardashian, he’s probably pretty prepared to deal that.)
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It appears the rapper is so serious about his campaign plans that he’s already had “Yeezy for President” gear designed.
And he’s wrangled up some celeb backers.
Rapper 50 Cent recently addressed West’s idea to run for president on Conan.
“I like the idea of him running,” he said. “That’s a lot of responsibility, you know what I’m saying? It’s the same thing like with Trump.”
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Prior to Nov. 8’s election results, West’s wife, Kim Kardashian, publicly endorsed Hillary Clinton, as did her momager, Kris Jenner, and sister, Khloe. Caitlyn Jenner was the only member of the famous family to publicly support Trump.
West also attended a Clinton fundraising event back in August 2015, snapping a selfie with the former Democratic nominee.
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It’s unclear why West didn’t decide to vote in this year’s election.
With files from ET Canada