LGBT celebrities and allies abandon Kanye West after pro-Trump tweets
(Photos: Getty)
Kanye West’s return to Twitter has already caused controversy after a series of pro-Trump tweets.
After his recent return to the micro-blogging site, reports circulated that West had lost over a third of his follower count following the pro-Trump tweets, though this was later proven false.
Although West currently has over 27 million followers on Twitter, the controversial rapper has been hit by a number of high profile departures, including multiple LGBT people and allies.
This celebrity exodus comes after West posted a series of tweets that reaffirmed his previous support for President Trump.
In the tweets posted Wednesday, the “Gold Digger” singer said that he loved Trump despite “the mob” and referred to the president as “my brother.”
(Photo: @KanyeWest /Twitter)
“You don’t have to agree with Trump, but the mob can’t make me not love him,” he wrote.
“We are both dragon energy. He is my brother.”
Related: 10 of Kanye West’s most controversial moments
The 40-year-old star posted a photo of his autographed Make America Great Again hat, a trademark of Trump’s 2016 presidential election campaign.
(Photo: @KanyeWest /Twitter)
According to Cosmopolitan Australia, a whole host of famous LGBT people and allies have unfollowed West in the aftermath of the rappers’ Twitter storm.
Celebrities including Troye Sivan and Jaden Smith have reportedly unfollowed West on the micro-blogging site since the pro-Trump tweets.
Since Trump took office in January 2017 — yes, it’s only been 15 months — many groups have criticised his administration for multiple attacks on LGBT equality.
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty)
The Justice Department has made the most dramatic hits to LGBT equality under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, with officials appearing in court to argue that discrimination against gay people should be legal, and attempts to undermine civil rights laws protecting LGBT people.
Trump has also pledged to sign the First Amendment Defense Act, a proposed Republican law that blocks the federal government from enforcing anti-discrimination protections or civil rights laws in cases where people acted based on “a sincerely held religious belief” in marriage.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty)
As well as Sivan and Smith, Ariana Grande — whose most recent single “No Tears Left to Cry” has been praised as 2018’s gay anthem — also allegedly unfollowed West.
Other celebrities to have reportedly unfollowed West this week include Harry Styles, Katy Perry, Drake, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Chrissy Teigen, Kendrick Lamar, BTS, Lana Del Rey and John Legend.
President Trump responded to several of West’s tweets about him, retweeting one of the posts with the caption: “Thank you Kanye, very cool!”
(Photo: @RealDonaldTrump /Twitter)
West’s sisters-in-law Kylie Jenner and Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian are also reported to have unfollowed West since Wednesday.
Kim Kardashian defended her husband in a tweet on Wednesday, saying West was “years ahead of his time.”
She wrote: “Kanye will never run in the race of popular opinion and we know that and that’s why I love him and respect him and in a few years when someone else says the same exact thing but they aren’t labelled the way he is and you will all praise them!
“Kanye is years ahead of his time.”
