West Receives Backlash After SNL Performance

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Kanye West made an appearance as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live‘s season premier. He was accompanied by fellow musicians with whom he collaborates: Lil Pump, Kid Cudi, 070 Shake, and Teyana Taylor.

When it was time for his first song of the evening, Kanye West and Lil Pump arrived on stage in bulky costumes; Pump dressed as Fuji Water, and West as Perrier Sparkling Water, performing their song “I Love It.” The reaction from that performance from social media was extremely negative,taken more as a joke. At the end of the episode he appeared on stage in a “Make America Great Again” hat, broadcasting his support for President Trump. He tells the audience he was “bullied” backstage by producers trying to stop him from wearing the hat. West said that when he wears the hat he is a “superhero.” The SNL studio crowd booed West for his unscripted speech that only was partially aired due to the time slot.

The following day, West tweeted a photo of him in the hat with the caption, “this represents good and America becoming whole again.  We will no longer outsource to other countries. We build factories here in America and create jobs.  We will provide jobs for all who are free from prisons as we abolish the 13th amendment. Message sent with love.” That is concerning for various reasons, but it also does not make much sense, as the 13th Amendment abolished slavery. President Trump also tweeted about West wearing the MAGA hat on SNL and called it “very cool.”

Chris Evans, the actor best known for his role as Captain America, responded to the tweet and said: 

“There’s nothing more maddening than debating someone who doesn’t know history, doesn’t read books, and frames their myopia as virtue. The level of unapologetic conjecture I’ve encountered lately isn’t just frustrating, it’s retrogressive, unprecedented and absolutely terrifying.”  Evans is getting a lot of support for speaking out. His tweet has 575k likes and 140k retweets.

Another celebrity who called out West is singer songwriter Lana Del Rey. Rey responded to the post in the comments section of Instagram with,: “Trump becoming president was a loss for our country, but your support for  him is a loss for the culture.” Rey is being praised for responding with so much class and factual context. She’s also received hate from Trump supporters, but within the music community, it has been a positive reaction.  

West has not responded to either celebrities, and has deleted his Twitter and Instagram accounts.