Kanye West — now going by Ye — sat down with Fox News host Tucker Carlson to discuss his controversy-igniting “White Lives Matter” T-shirt. He designed and wore that shirt for his Paris fashion week show along with friend and conservative pundit Candace Owens, sending the Left into meltdown mode.

Kanye and Trump

Kanye is known for causing controversy because of wearing Donald Trump’s emblematic red “Make America Great Again” hat and also liking the former president on a personal level. Kanye even visited Trump at the White House back in 2018.

In his interview with Carlson, Kanye had this to say about that controversy: “My so-called friends/handlers around me told me if I said that I liked Trump that my career would be over. That 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 that 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. That means they are going to beat them up if I wear it. I’m like, you know, ‘Okay, green-light me then.’”

It takes courage to stand up to your enemies, but exponentially more to stand up to your friends. Kanye is one of the select few successful celebrities who is willing to fight against the authoritarian gatekeepers in the industry and say what he actually believes. For this, they slandered him and dismissed him because of his airing that he has bipolar disorder. Leftists call him crazy.

The Shirt

Carlson asked Kanye about his latest controversy with the “White Lives Matter” shirt. Kanye’s answer was simple: He wore the shirt because white lives do matter. When Kanye asked his father what he thought about the slogan, his father (who was a former Black Panther) reportedly was amused and replied, “Just a black man stating the obvious.”

The More Subtle Statement

Carlson also asked Kanye about his lanyard, which had an image of a prenatal ultrasound. Kanye explained that he wore it because he is pro-life. Carlson asked what sort of responses from other people Kanye had gotten; his answer was decisive: “I don’t care about people’s responses. I care about the fact that there’s more black babies being aborted than born in New York City at this point, that 50% of black death in America is abortion. So I really don’t care about people’s response. I perform for an audience of one, and that’s God.” To which Carlson replied that he now understood why leftists wanted Kanye to be silent.

Kanye’s interview was full of biblical references and his faith and belief in God’s providence. It is profound and beautiful to see, especially considering how recently Kanye had a Damascus Road experience and became a born-again Christian.

The world of art in all its forms is an area where Christians have ceded a lot of ground. We have long let the world decide what is good, true, and beautiful, and now we find ourselves on the outside of the music, movie, and art industries. It’s going to take bold voices like Kanye West to challenge the monopoly that the Left has on these industries. Kanye said he was made for a time such as this (paraphrasing from Esther, who was called on a similar mission to save her people). It brings us hope that his courage will open minds to the truth and turn hearts to Christ.

Kanye With a Grain of Salt

For all his courage and grit in this particular arena, Kanye is also a flawed individual. He is infamous for airing his personal grievances (particularly with his ex-wife) on social media. This sort of airing of dirty laundry is never going to be resolved through the very public eye of social media. Sadly, his judgment severely erred again this past weekend.

Kanye wrote this ill-advised post: “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death [sic] con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE. The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also. You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”

This imbroglio got him locked out of his Instagram account. According to The Daily Wire, it was in reference to particular Jews who were influencing his former friend Diddy, but that context is lost amidst a “sleep” tirade.