Kanye West, an unlikely Trump fan, sparks outrage by calling slavery ‘a choice’
‘You hear about slavery for 400 years. For 400 years? That sounds like a choice’
Rapper Kanye West, strongly criticised in the music world after throwing his unlikely support behind US President Donald Trump, has sparked fresh outrage when he called slavery “a choice”.
The rapper, never shy about expressing himself, made the comments in passing on Tuesday during one of two free-flowing interviews he gave as he promotes two upcoming albums.
“You hear about slavery for 400 years. For 400 years? That sounds like a choice,” West told TMZ Live, the broadcast wing of the celebrity gossip site.
“We’re mentally in prison. I like the word ‘prison’ because slavery is too direct to the idea of blacks. Like Holocaust is Jews, slavery is blacks,” West said.
We’re mentally in prison. I like the word ‘prison’ because slavery is too direct to the idea of blacks. Like Holocaust is Jews, slavery is blacks
West’s remarks immediately sparked an uproar on Twitter, his favourite medium, and he was taken to task live by a TMZ employee who said he was “appalled”.