In what is now a completely normal occurrence in 2018, Kanye West (!) has gone on TMZ Live (!!) and said that slavery “sounds like a choice” (!!!).
Someone get us a drink.
Speaking to TMZ at their offices in Los Angeles, West decided to continue his ~free thinking~ by boldly stating what he thought about slavery.
“When you hear about slavery for 400 years — for 400 years?! That sounds like a choice,” he said.
“Like, you was there for 400 years and it’s all of y’all? It’s like we’re mentally in prison.”
The comment was so controversial that TMZ reporter Van Lathan fired back at him from across the room, almost immediately.
“I actually don’t think you’re thinking anything. I think what you’re doing right now is actually the absence of thought,” he said.
“And the reason why I feel like that is because, Kanye, you’re entitled to your opinion. You’re entitled to believe whatever you want. But there is fact, and real-world, real-life consequence behind everything that you just said.
“And while you are making music and being an artist and living the life that you’ve earned by being a genius, the rest of us in society have to deal with these threats to our lives.
“We have to deal with the marginalisation that has come from the 400 years of slavery that you said, for our people, was a choice. Frankly, I’m disappointed, I’m appalled, and brother, I am unbelievably hurt by the fact that you have morphed into something, to me, that’s not real.”
Many people on Twitter are commending Lathan and condemning West for what transpired at TMZ.
Shouts to @VanLathan tho for telling Kanye to his face that he’s not a free thinker, that he’s “absent of thought” altogether. You’re speaking truth to what millions of his fans/ex-fans want to communicate to him.
— Trill Laimbeer (@Mooque) May 1, 2018
@VanLathan did extremely well in the way he communicated the pain and hurt that we’ve all been feeling in response to @kanyewest ‘s recent statements.
— LEW SALEM (@LewSalem) May 1, 2018
There is fact & real world, real life consequence behind everything you just said…the rest of us in society have to deal with these threats to our lives. We have to deal with the marginalization…from the 400 years of slavery that u said for our people was a choice.@VanLathan
— Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) 1 May 2018
West has since hopped on to Twitter to attempt to clarify what he meant by his statements.
to make myself clear. Of course I know that slaves did not get shackled and put on a boat by free will
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) 1 May 2018
My point is for us to have stayed in that position even though the numbers were on our side means that we were mentally enslaved
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) 1 May 2018
They cut out our tongues so we couldn’t communicate to each other. I will not allow my tongue to be cut
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) 1 May 2018
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/991466506725744642
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/991466590758518784
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/991476958721556487
He also spoke to TMZ about a past opioid addiction he had after receiving liposuction.
“I had plastic surgery because I was trying to look good for y’all,” he said.
“I got liposuction because I didn’t want y’all to call me fat like y’all call Rob (Kardashian) at the wedding and made him fly home before me and Kim got married.”
All of this comes after the release of a video in which West professes his love for Donald Trump and says he’s “inspiring”.
In case anyone has forgotten, Kanye has a new album out Friday, 1st June and a joint album with Kid Cudi out Friday, 8th June.
Watch clips of Kanye’s trip to TMZ below.
