During an interview with TMZ on Tuesday, host Harvey Levin begged Kanye West to take off his “Make America Great Again” hat to make him and others “feel better.” Kanye did not oblige, but instead sang the praises of the First Amendment and stressed that he will not be bullied.
“I would love it, Kanye, if you would not wear that hat. It would make me and a lot of other people feel better,” said Levin. “In fact, why don’t we say, ‘Please take off the hat, Kanye!’ How’s that?”
“It’s not good,” answered the artist, who recently told a Saturday Night Live audience that he was “bullied” for wearing his Trump “MAGA” hat.
Levin backed off, agreeing that Kanye has a “right” to wear the hat, though he doesn’t like what it “stands for.”
“Exactly! First Amendment, baby! First Amendment! First Amendment,” yelled Kanye, before arguing with Levin over what the hat stands for.
“Is it fair to say your hat doesn’t represent your support of Donald Trump?” he asked.
After a long pause, Kanye replied, “I am American, and I support and give my ideas and support and brilliance to whoever ends up in office,” adding, “That’s my stance, as an American. I support our president, bottom line, no matter who they are. As an American, I support our president.”
“I already told you what this hat represents to me,” he said, pointing at the “MAGA” atop his head. “This represents, y’all can’t bully me. … You can’t tell me what to do.”
WATCH (relevant comments begin at the 30:40-mark):