Award-winning singer and songwriter John Legend has opened up about his estranged relationship with rapper and fashion mogul Kanye West, offering a personal take on the evolution of West’s mental health over the years.
In a candid interview with The Times, John Legend shared his thoughts on Kanye’s public behavior and controversial statements, tracing much of it back to a pivotal moment in the rapper’s life, the loss of his beloved mother, Donda West, in 2007.
Kanye West, who has long been in the spotlight not just for his artistry but also for his unpredictable outbursts and polarizing views, has previously spoken openly about living with bipolar disorder and recently claimed he was misdiagnosed, asserting that he is actually autistic. This revelation has reignited public debates about the rapper’s mental health and the role it plays in his often erratic actions.
Joining the conversation, John Legend remarked on what he perceives as a significant turning point in Kanye’s life.
“It does feel sad, sometimes shocking, to see where he [Kanye West] is now… I didn’t see a hint of what we are seeing now, his obsessions with antisemitism, anti-blackness, and it is sad to see his devolution,” Legend said.
He added that while he is not qualified to make a clinical diagnosis, the shift in Kanye’s behavior seemed to align with the death of his mother, a loss that deeply impacted the rapper both personally and emotionally.
“But, I don’t think we are qualified to psychoanalyse him, but after his mother passed in 2007 there was definitely a difference. His descent started then and seems to have accelerated recently,” Legend continued.
Once close friends and collaborators, Kanye and John Legend’s relationship has cooled in recent years, especially amid political and ideological differences. Despite the distance, Legend’s recent comments reflect a sense of concern and sorrow over the current state of the man he once knew well.
