Kanye West exclusive: Rapper tells Tucker Carlson story behind White Lives Matter shirt
>> Tucker: GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO “TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT,” KANYE WEST, NOW KNOWN AS YE IS ONE OF THE BEST-SELLING MUSICAL ARTISTS IN THE WORLD, CELEBRATED AND VERY HIGHLY PAID FASHION DESIGNER. FOR DECADES HE WAS WELL-KNOWN TO TV AUDIENCES AS A IN LAW OF THE KARDASHIAN FAME. IT WAS HIS LATEST INCARNATION AS A CHRISTIAN EVANGELIST THAT BROUGHT US TO HIS OFFICE FOR THE INTERVIEW YOU’RE ABOUT TO SEE. DAYS AGO DURING FASHION WEEK WEST ACCOMPANIED BY HIS FRIEND CANDACE OWENS UNVEILED A T-SHIRT THAT SAID SIMPLY “WHITE LIVES MATTER” THE RESPONSE FROM THE FASHION INDUSTRY WAS INSTANTANEOUS
AND UNIFORM. SHOCK, HORROR, RAGE. THERE WAS NO EXCUSE FOR THIS FUND OR “THE NEW YORK TIMES,” HE IS LEGITIMIZING EXTREMISM, TREAT ROLLING STONE. WHAT WAS MISSING FROM THE COVERAGE WAS AN EXPLANATION FOR WHY HE DID THIS, WHAT WAS THE T-SHIRT ABOUT? AND NO ONE SEEMED TO THINK TO ASK HIM MUCH LESS LISTEN TO WHAT HE HAD TO SAY. THE ENEMIES OF IDEAS DISMISSED WEST AS THEY HAVE FOUR YEARS AS MENTALLY ILL, TOO CRAZY TO TAKE SERIOUSLY. LOOK AWAY, IGNORE HIM, HE’S A MENTAL PATIENT — NOTHING TO SEE HERE. IS HE CRAZY? YOU CAN JUDGE FOR
YOURSELF AS YOU WATCH WHAT WE ARE ABOUT TO SHOW YOU. HE HAS HIS OWN IDEAS, WE CAN SAY THAT — CREATIVE PEOPLE TEND TO THAT’S WHY
FROM PARIS FASHION WEEK, WHAT IS THAT? >> IS A PHOTOGRAPH OF A BABIES ULTRASOUND? >> Tucker: YOU DESIGN THAT. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? >> IT REPRESENTS LIFE, I’M PRO-LIFE. >> Tucker: YOU WEAR IT ON A BADGE, WHAT KIND OF RESPONSE DO YOU GET? >> I DON’T CARE ABOUT PEOPLE RESPONSE AS I CARE ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE IS MORE BLACK BABIES BEING ABORTED THEN BORN IN NEW YORK CITY AT THIS POINT. 50% OF BLACK DEATH IN AMERICA IS ABORTION. I DON’T CARE ABOUT PEOPLE’S RESPONSE, I PERFORM FOR AN AUDIENCE OF ONE AND THAT IS GOD.
>> Tucker: I’M STARTING TO SEE WHY THEY WANT TO MAKE YOU BE QUIET. WHEN DID YOU START TO FEEL THIS WAY, WHEN DID YOU REALIZE THIS? >> I THINK I STARTED TO REALLY FEEL THIS NEED TO EXPRESS MYSELF ON ANOTHER LEVEL WHEN TRUMP WAS RUNNING FOR OFFICE AND I LIKED HIM. HIM AND EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN HOLLYWOOD FROM MY EX-WIFE TO MY MOTHER-IN-LAW TO MY MANAGER AT THAT TIME TO MY SO-CALLED FRIENDS AND HANDLERS AROUND ME TOLD ME THAT IF I SAID I LIKED TRUMP THAT MY CAREER WOULD BE OVER, MY LIFE WOULD BE OVER.
THEY SAID STUFF LIKE PEOPLE GET KILLED FOR WEARING A HAT LIKE THAT, THEY THREATENED MY LIFE. THEY BASICALLY SAID I WOULD BE KILLED FOR WEARING THE HAT. I HAD SOMEONE CALL ME LAST NIGHT AND SAID ANYBODY WEARING A WHITE LIVES MATTER SHIRT IS GOING TO BE GREEN LIT AND THAT MEANS THEY’RE GOING TO BEAT THEM UP IF THEY WEAR IT. I’M LIKE GREEN LIGHT NEEDED TO. GOD BUILDS WARRIORS IN A DIFFERENT WAY. I DON’T KNOW IF IT’S BECAUSE OF ME BEING BORN IN ATLANTA AND GROWING UP ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO, HE MADE ME
FOR SUCH A TIME LIKE THIS. IT’S LIKE WITH DAVID. HE TENDED TO THE SHEEP BUT WHILE HE WAS OUT THERE HE HAD TO FIGHT ALL KINDS OF ANIMALS. WHEN IT WAS TIME FOR GOLIATH TO COME HE THOUGHT BECAUSE HE WAS A SHEEPHERDER THAT HE DIDN’T HAVE THE SKILL SET TO TAKE DOWN GOLIATH AND THE THING THAT I HAVE SOME OF THE POSITION THAT I HAVE, MY HEART — BUT THE NUMBER ONE THING IS WE HAVE GOD ON OUR SIDE. EVEN IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN GOD, GOD BELIEVES IN YOU. >> Tucker: YOU MADE REFERENCE TO
THE WHITE LIVES MATTER T-SHIRT WHICH YOU BROUGHT OUT AT PARIS FASHION WEEK. WHY DID YOU DO THAT AND WHAT DID IT MEAN? >> I DO CERTAIN THINGS FROM A FEELING, I JUST CHANNEL THE ENERGY IT FEELS RIGHT. HITS USING A GUT INSTINCT, CONNECTION WITH GOD AND JUST BRILLIANCE. THEY ASKED TONYA HARDING HOW SHE DID THE TRIPLE FLIP AND SHE WAS IN SO MUCH PRACTICE THAT WHEN IT WAS TIME FOR HER TO SKATE IN A COMPETITIVE FORMAT IT JUST HAPPENED. IT HAPPENED OUTSIDE OF PRACTICE THAT HAPPENED IN THE REAL FORMAT. THAT’S WHAT’S HAPPENING. GOD IS PREPARING
US FOR THE REAL BATTLES. WE ARE IN A BATTLE WITH THE MEDIA. THE MAJORITY OF THE MEDIA HAS A GODLESS AGENDA AND THEY ARE LIKE YE IS CRAZY — THEY DON’T WORK BECAUSE THE MEDIA HAVE ALSO WATCHED TRAVESTIES HAPPEN, EVEN SPECIFICALLY TO ME. JUST WATCH IT AND ACT LIKE IT WASN’T HAPPENING AND THEY STAY QUIET ABOUT IT. I WANT TO ANSWER — I FEEL LIKE SOMEONE CALLED WHAT I WAS SAYING THE COMPARISON OF TONYA HARDING TO WHITE LIVES MATTER. MY DAD IS AN EDUCATED EX-BLACK PANTHER AND HE PUT A TEXT TO ME TODAY AND HE
SAID WHITE LIVES MATTER, HAHAHA. I THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY, THE IDEA OF ME WEARING IT WAS FUNNY AND I SAID WHY DO YOU THINK IT’S FUNNY? AND HE SAID JUST A BLACK MAN STATING THE OBVIOUS. MY DAD DOESN’T LISTEN TO RAP MUSIC, HE’S SUPER EDUCATED, WE OPENED UP A WATER DISTRIBUTION CENTER IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TOGETHER. HE’S LIKE THE ORIGINAL STEVE JOBS. BUT HE WAS GETTING BLOCKED EVERY WHICH WAY WITH ALL OF HIS IDEAS AND HE DIDN’T HAVE AN ENDLESS BANK ACCOUNT AND HE DIDN’T HAVE INSTAGRAM, ALL THESE IDEAS HE HAD TO TAKE THEM BACK
AND COMPRESS THEM. MY DAD IS THE MOST BRILLIANT PERSON THAT I KNOW AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE A STRAINED RELATIONSHIP BECAUSE I WAS TAKEN FROM HIM BECAUSE MY MOM WAS AN ACTRESS SO SHE WAS A LIBERAL. MY DAD WOULD SEE CERTAIN THINGS AND SAY WE SHOULD DO IT THIS WAY, WE SHOULD DO IT THAT WAY AND THE PEOPLE AROUND MY MOM AND PULLED HER AWAY MUCH LIKE KIM IS A CHRISTIAN BUT SHE HAS PEOPLE WHO WANT HER TO GO TO INTERVIEW MAGAZINE AND PUT HER ASS OUT WHILE SHE’S A 40 SOMETHING-YEAR-OLD BILLIONAIRE WITH MULTIPLE BLACK CHILDREN
AND THAT’S HOW THEY WANT TO PRESENT HER. YOU GIVE YOU THESE QUESTIONS AND I GIVE YOU THE THREE-PART ANSWERS, IS THIS A COOL FORMAT FOR YOU? >> Tucker: I AM FOLLOWING YOU. YOU SAID YOUR FATHER SAID IT’S GREAT TO SEE A BLACK MAN STATING THE OBVIOUS. BY WHICH I THINK YOU MEANT THAT’S OBVIOUSLY TRUE. >> THAT WAS MY FAVORITE RESPONSE BECAUSE I KEPT THINKING, PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR AN EXPLANATION AND PEOPLE SAY AS AN ARTIST YOU DON’T HAVE TO GIVE AN EXPLANATION BUT AS A LEADER YOU DO. >> Tucker: I THINK THAT’S RIGHT. SPEAK OF
THE ANSWER TO WHY I WROTE WHITE LIVES MATTER ON A SHIRT IS BECAUSE THEY DO. IT’S THE OBVIOUS THING. >> Tucker: YEAH. WHY DO YOU THINK THAT’S — I ASSUME THE IMPLICATION, ALL LIVES MATTER BECAUSE THEY ARE LIVES AND GOD CREATED THEM, WHY DO YOU THINK THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED CONTROVERSIAL? >> BECAUSE THE SAME PEOPLE THAT HAVE STRIPPED US OF OUR IDENTITY AND LABELED US AS A COLOR HAVE TOLD US WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BLACK. IN THE VERNACULAR THAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE. MY DAD GREW UP AS A MILITARY BRAT AND HIS FAMILY
MOVED AROUND BUT THEY ARE BASED MOSTLY IN DELAWARE AND AT THE TIME, IF THEY WEREN’T THE ONLY BLACK FAMILY, THEY WERE ONE OF THE FEW. HE WOULD BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST BECAUSE HE WAS BLACK, BY THE TIME HE GOT INTO COLLEGE HE WOULD BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST, HE WENT TO A BLACK COLLEGE, HE WOULD BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST BECAUSE THEY SAID HE TALKED TO WHITE AND THEN HE PLAYED THE KICK DRUM IN THE BAND, WHEN HE WOULD GO TO THE CLUB AND THE MUSIC WAS PLAYING WHERE HE CLAPPED HIS HANDS? WITH THE KICK DRUM — IS THE OPPOSITE
OF EVERYONE ELSE. THIS IS THE MOST ELEGANT AND TASTEFUL PERSON THAT I KNOW AND WHEN THE SCHOOL SUGGESTED — WHAT THEY DO IS TAKE THE BLACK COMMUNITY AND THEY SEPARATE US, THEY SEPARATE THE FAMILIES AND THE EDUCATED, THEY PUSH THIS NEED FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, US AS BLACKS WE DISCRIMINATE AGAINST EACH OTHER AND SAY I GOT MY PhD YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR PhD I’M BETTER THAN YOU. MY MOM HAD HER PhD AND SHE WAS INFLUENCED TO MOVE TO THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO, TAKE THIS JOB AT CHICAGO STATE UNIVERSITY SHE TOLD MY DAD IF YOU COME
FOR US YOU WILL NEVER SEE HIM AGAIN. THE MEDIA RIDICULED ME FOR GETTING THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR TO KIM TO SEE MY CHILDREN AND THEY EVEN SAID I WAS STALKING HER AND HER NEW BOYFRIEND BECAUSE I BOUGHT THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR TO SEE MY CHILDREN. THAT’S HOW I KNEW MY MOM HAD SAID THAT TO HIM, I SAID THEY MOVED US TO ONE OF THE MOST — AGREED UPON TO BE ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACES IN THE WORLD. IT’S ALMOST LIKE THEY TRIED TO KILL ME OR SOMETHING. I SAID WHY DIDN’T YOU EVER COME TO
GET US? THAT’S WHEN HE TOLD ME THAT SHE WAS TOLD THAT. SO MANY THINGS ARE PUT IN KIM’S HEAD TO. BRING INFLUENCERS LIKE NO ONE EVER KNEW WERE CORY GAMBLE CAME FROM, NO ONE KNOWS WHERE HE CAME FROM — THESE PEOPLE WERE PRACTICALLY MADE IN A LABORATORY IN MY OPINION. ONE OF THE THINGS THEY’RE REALLY GOOD AT DOING IS BEING NICE AND BEING LIKABLE. WHAT THEY DO IS FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE SOME FORM OF INFLUENCE WHETHER IT’S AN EDUCATED BLACK WOMAN LIKE MY MOTHER THAT BECAME THE HEAD OF THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT AT CHICAGO STATE UNIVERSITY
OR WHETHER IT’S THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WHITE WOMAN ON THE PLANET BEING MY EX-WIFE, THEY HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE AROUND THEM AT ALL TIMES TELLING THEM WHAT TO BE AFRAID OF. NOT WHAT TO DO OR SAY, WANT TO BE AFRAID OF AND IF YOU HAVE A PERSON THAT ISN’T AFRAID OF THEM — LIKE RUSSELL BRAND OR CANDACE OWENS — IS NOT THAT WE HAVE TO AGREE. >> Tucker: THEY ARE NOT AFRAID. >> THEY AREN’T AFRAID TO STATE WITH HER OPINION IS. EVERYONE HAS AN OPINION. >> Tucker: A CONVERSATION LIKE THIS IS A WINDOW INTO A WORLD
THAT YOU DON’T SEE, SO IF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH WEST FROM THE MEDIA, YOU THINK OF HIM AS AN INDIVIDUAL MAN. WHAT YOU DON’T THINK ABOUT IS THAT HE IS AT THE CENTER OF A BATTLE AND PEOPLE LIKE HIM ARE AT THE CENTER OF A BATTLE TO GET A MESSAGE OUT. MOUTH BY THE LIPS OF INFLUENCERS LIKE HIM AND SO MANY OTHERS THAT EXTENDS A STORY LINE ON BEHALF OF THE STATUS QUO. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE VYING TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT PEOPLE LIKE HIM SAY THE RIGHT THINGS. THE CONSEQUENCES FOR NOT DOING THAT
ARE SEVERE. FOR HIM TO COME OUT AND SAY ALL LIVES MATTER OBVIOUSLY IS A HUGE THREAT TO A LOT OF PEOPL
