Kanye West took his views on politics, racism and pop culture to Fox News, where he boasted about his “White Lives Matter” shirt and randomly attacked Lizzo.
The hip-hop mogul sat down on Tucker Carlson Tonight Thursday for a wide-ranging interview about the controversy surrounding his shirt.
West described his decision to wear the shirt as a creative choice.
“I do certain things from a feeling, I just channel the energy. It just feels right. It’s using a gut instinct, a connection with God, and just brilliance,” he said. “I thought the shirt was funny. I thought that the idea of me wearing it was funny.”
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The “Power” rapper noted that his father, Ray West, had no problem with the shirt.
“My dad is an educated ex-Black Panther, and he put in a text to me today, he said, ‘White Lives Matter. Ha ha ha ha ha,'” West told Carlson.
The rapper has been widely criticized for wearing the divisive shirt, as well as for sending models down the runway in “White Lives Matter” attire at his Yeezy show during Paris Fashion Week.
The phrase was started by white supremacists in response to the Black Lives Matter movement after the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
But on Thursday night, West brushed aside criticism for using the far-right slogan.
“People, they’re looking for an explanation, and people say, ‘as an artist you don’t have to give an explanation,’ but as a leader you do,” he said. “So the answer to why I wrote ‘white lives matter’ on a shirt is because they do. It’s the obvious thing.”
Related Story: Hollywood Blogger Jason Lee Cuts Ties With Kanye West Over ‘White Lives Matter’ Stunt
While discussing the controversy over the shirt, West brought up Lizzo and her body.
“When Lizzo loses 10 pounds and announces it, the bots … on Instagram, they attack her for losing weight because the media wants to put out a perception that being overweight is the new goal, when it’s actually unhealthy,” West said. “Let’s put aside whether it’s fashion, in vogue, which it’s not or if someone thinks it’s attractive, to each his own. It’s actually clinically unhealthy. And for people to promote that, it’s demonic.”
Carlson asked him to elaborate and the rapper claimed being larger leads to “genocide of the Black race. They want to kill us in any way they can.”
The interview was filmed at West’s Los Angeles office. The hip-hop star also discussed his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, the Clintons and Jared Kushner.
The second part of the Kanye West interview airs Friday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Fox News.
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