WARNING: This story contains explicit language.
Kanye West was the musical guest for Saturday Night Live’s (SNL) Season 44 premiere on Sept. 29 and the rapper was full of surprises.
As the show ended, West took the stage wearing a “Make America Great Again”(MAGA) hat and made an unscripted pro-Trump speech after the credits rolled.
https://twitter.com/phillycustoms/status/1046253578606845953
READ MORE: Kanye West, Adam Driver to appear in ‘SNL’ Season 44 premiere
“I want to cry right now,” the rapper said into the mic. “Black man in America, you’re supposed to keep what you feel inside right now. And the liberals bully you and tell you what you can and cannot wear, where you and they can’t not stare. And they look at me and say, ‘It’s not fair. How the hell did you get here?’ Well…”
He continued: “Actually, blacks weren’t always Democrats. It’s like a plan they did to take the fathers out the homes and promote welfare. Does anybody know about that? That’s the Democratic plan.”
He went on to suggest that the SNL cast had tried to stop him from using the platform to make a political statement.
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“They bullied me backstage. They said don’t go out there with that hat on. They bullied me backstage. They bullied me. And then they say I’m in a sunken place. You want to see the sunken place? OK, I’ma listen to y’all now,” he said.
He removed his MAGA hat before putting it back on. “Or I’ma put my Superman cape on, which means you can’t tell me what to do,” he said. “Follow your heart and stop following your mind. That’s how we’re controlled. That how we’re programmed. If you want the world to move forward, try love.”
He warned the crowd that people can’t be controlled by “monolithic thought.” He also mentioned Bill Cosby, saying, “You can’t always have when you have a black subject matter like Cosby that you have to have a black comedian talk about it.”
READ MORE: Snoop Dogg criticizes Kanye West on-air for supporting Trump
“There’s so many times I talk to like a white person about this, and they’re like, ‘How could you like Trump? He’s racist,'” he continued. “Well, uh, if I was concerned about racism, I would’ve moved out of America a long time ago. We don’t just make our decisions off of racism. I’ma break it down to you right now: If someone inspires me and I connect with them, I don’t have to believe in all they policies.”
In response, an audience member yelled, “F**k Trump.” West added, “Now you got a situation where we need to have a dialogue and not a diatribe because if you want something to change, it’s not going to change by saying, ‘F**k that person.’ Try love. Try love. Try love. Try love.”
READ MORE: Kanye West claims he was not ‘stumped’ by Jimmy Kimmel’s Donald Trump question
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Videos of the speech circulated on social media.
Comedian Chris Rock posted portions of West’s speech on Instagram. In part of his clips, you can hear Rock whispering, “Oh, my God.”
https://twitter.com/jbillinson/status/1046271001284288512
Many people criticized West for using the popular show to deliver a pro-Trump rant.
https://twitter.com/DoughboyStar/status/1046608463751774208
https://twitter.com/Jaack/status/1046487256477896707
READ MORE: Kanye West shocks with slavery remark: ‘400 years? That sounds like a choice’
West posted a message on Twitter explaining why he wore the MAGA hat after the show aired.
“This represents good and America becoming whole again,” he wrote. “We will no longer outsource to other countries. We build factories here in America and create jobs. We will provide jobs for all who are free from prisons as we abolish the 13th amendment.
“Message sent with love.”
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1046466533973590016
Actor Chris Evans responded to the Ye rapper’s tweet. He wrote, “There’s nothing more maddening than debating someone who doesn’t know history, doesn’t read books, and frames their myopia as virtue. The level of unapologetic conjecture I’ve encountered lately isn’t just frustrating, it’s retrogressive, unprecedented and absolutely terrifying.”
https://twitter.com/ChrisEvans/status/1046483677184700420
Singer Lana Del Rey, who performed at West and Kim Kardashian West’s wedding in 2014, described the rapper’s support for Trump as “a loss for the culture.”
“I can only assume you relate to his personality on some level,” Del Rey wrote. “Delusions of grandeur, extreme issues with narcissism.
She continued: “None of which would be a talking point if we weren’t speaking about the man leading our country. If you think it’s alright to support someone who believes it’s OK to grab a woman… just because he’s famous, then you need an intervention just as much as he does.”
She concluded by saying: “Message sent with concern that will never be addressed.”
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During his rant, West brought up that he’s still considering running for U.S. president in 2020. During portions of his rant the audience could be heard booing but at moments there was sparse clapping.
Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to complain about how SNL is “no longer funny, no talent or charm,” but he praised West.
“Like many, I don’t watch Saturday Night Live (even though I past hosted it) — no longer funny, no talent or charm. It is just a political ad for the Dems. Word is that Kanye West, who put on a MAGA hat after the show (despite being told ‘no’), was great. He’s leading the charge!” Trump tweeted.
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Donald Trump Jr. took to Twitter to write, “Is anyone even a little bit shocked that @kanyewest was bullied backstage for wanting to wear a #MAGA hat on SNL? Despite the BS they preach, the left isn’t tolerant of any view that differs even slightly from their own. You obey or you’re out.”
West said he “had so much fun at SNL.”
“Lorne agreed that I would host before the year is out. Need to set a date. Gonna be sooooooooo lit. In the words of Lil Pump …Esskeetit !” West tweeted.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1046425913947115522
Saturday Night Live airs on Global on Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT.
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