Kanye West Says He Had 'Gut Instinct' About White Lives Matter T-Shirt

Following on from several recent controversial incidents, the Grammy-winner rapper and fashion designer Ye (formerly known as Kanye West), explained his side of the story on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Thursday, with part two airing on Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox News.

Speaking with Fox News anchor Carlson, Ye touched on numerous things that he has made no secret about on his Instagram account.

These included addressing his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, commenting on Lizzo's weight, and saying Kris Jenner's partner Corey Gamble and Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson were "practically made in a laboratory."

However, one of the big topics of conversation during the interview was Ye's "White Lives Matter" T-shirt, which he debuted at his Yeezy Season 9 show during Paris Fashion Week on Monday.

Ye sent models down the runway in the bold shirt, while he was pictured wearing the top alongside right-wing pundit Candace Owens backstage, who was also sporting the T-shirt with the slogan.

Since his Paris show, Ye has received backlash from the media and some of the biggest names in fashion, including Vogue editor Karefa-Johnson, 31, supermodel Gigi Hadid, 27, and musician Jaden Smith, 24.

Ye's design has been viewed as controversial and seriously damaging as "White Lives Matter" is classified by the Anti-Defamation League as a "white supremacist phrase."

It originated in response to the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2015 and has been used by white supremacist groups including the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Renaissance Society.

For the first time on camera, Ye was able to explain the inspiration behind the "White Lives Matter" shirt and said his father, Ray West, an ex-Black Panther member, thought it was "funny."

The 45-year-old said to Carlson he decided to write the message because it is "obvious" that white lives "do matter."

He said: "I do certain things from a feeling. I just channel the energy. It just feels right. It's using a gut instinct, a connection with God, and just brilliance."

Ye recalled: "You know, my dad is an educated ex-Black Panther, and he put in a text to me today. He said, 'White Lives Matter. Ha ha ha ha ha.' And I said, 'I thought the shirt was a funny shirt. I thought the idea of me wearing it was funny.' And I said, 'Dad, why do you think it was funny?' He said, 'Just a Black man stating the obvious.'

"That [was] my favorite response," Ye said. "Cause ... people, they're looking for an explanation, and people say, 'Well, as an artist, you don't have to give an explanation,' but as a leader, you do.

"So the answer to why I wrote White Lives Matter on a shirt is because they do. It's the obvious thing."

When asked by Carlson what he thought made the "White Lives Matter" statement controversial, West blamed a "mob" of "liberal Nazis," as well as the media who are responsible for projecting white social norms.

Ye said: "Because the same people that have stripped us of an identity and labeled us as a color have told us what it means to be Black and the vernacular you're supposed to have."

In the same interview with Carlson, Ye said people supporting his "White Lives Matter" T-shirt have received violent threats and drew comparisons to how he was treated when he came out in support of former President Donald Trump.

He shared: "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, 'OK, green-light me then.'"

In response to Ye's White Lives Matter T-Shirt, a Black Lives Matter representative provided the following statement to Newsweek:

"We want to be abundantly clear that there is never an appropriate time to attack Black people. Black Lives Matter means more than words printed on a T-shirt. BLM is a movement, not a moment. It is a rallying cry across the Diaspora due to injustices in our communities and a reminder that across the country Black people continue to be murdered, mistreated, beaten, and broken down by a deeply rooted, white supremacist agenda.

"Black people cannot check in and out of the daily reality institutional racism plays in our lives.

"Convoluting the pillar of "Black Lives Matter" and changing it to "White Lives Matter" is irresponsible, destructive, and insensitive—it is charged with an absence to those who have had their lives stolen due to the very same system that is being championed.

"Our mission will never become a white supremacist, capitalistic commodity—a dangerous machine that consumes its own for profit. This is why Black Lives Matter exists in the first place—as a rallying cry, a movement, and an organization that powers that movement.

"This is not the moment to shun our own even when they seem to lack vision. This is the moment we educate and reinstall the momentum that is required to keep moving the needle towards true liberation for our people. We must continue with truth-telling and continue using our people-power to fight for our community."

"The condition of Black Americans and those of the Diaspora is not up for debate. While the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is disappointed with the lack of interest in covering the current issues pressing everyday people (including fair and safe elections), we continue to support and serve the black community. While Black Death may not dominate the headlines, there continue to be grieving families for those slain by the hands of systematic violence and lack of access to competitive global education, fair wages, and clean water wanes—we welcome all of those who wish to work with us towards abolition.

"The mission of this movement cannot be fulfilled in a silo or alone. Instead, it requires something of us all, even if that is the willingness to challenge the current condition for a better future."

Black Lives Matter is a decentralized movement that was founded in rapid response to growing frustrations with the condition of black persons around the world.