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John Legend has offered a clarification of his support of Kanye West for interrupting Beck on stage at the Grammy Awards.
The R&B singer (who also performed at the awards) has offered a longer explanation of his feelings towards Kanye West. He had previously told US Weekly that West's stage invasion "didn't hurt anybody. Anybody who's upset just needs to relax. It was funny."
Writing on Instagram, Legend explained: "First of all, Kanye is my friend. He believed in me years ago when very few did, and I wouldn't be here without his support. That doesn't mean we'll agree on everything, but it does mean that I am grateful to him. And I also believe he is one of the most gifted people I've had the privilege of working with.
"In my comments to US Weekly, I said that when Kanye walked up on stage, mimicking his interruption of Taylor Swift's VMA acceptance speech, then turned around as if he was just playing, most of the room including me saw this as funny, as a way of taking the piss out of himself for his infamous behaviour several years ago. When I said that was funny and people should lighten up about it, that's what I meant. I wasn't referring to Kanye's comments after the show which I have now seen and heard. I disagree with those comments.
"Beck is indeed a true artist's artist. He's a multi-instrumentalist, a creative and unique singer-songwriter whose music I have bought and enjoyed over the years. "
Legend continued: "While his win may have been a surprise to many, it's not because he's not a great artist deserving of recognition. "All of the other nominated artists, including Beyoncé, are incredible in their own right, and arguments could be made for any of them deserving to win. This is not an objective process. It's completely subjective, in fact.
"We can all debate who we thought should have won. But even if you didn't vote for him, plenty of our colleagues in the music business did.
"These voters are all creators who love music and have dedicated their lives to it, and the plurality of them chose Beck as the Album of the Year. I respect their decision and congratulate Beck on this outstanding accomplishment."
As previously reported, Beck has already given his opinion on the whole debacle. "I was just so excited [Kanye] was coming up. He deserves to be on stage as much as anybody," he told US Weekly. "How many great records has he put out in the last five years, right?” Asked if Beyonce should have won the Best Album award, Beck responded: “Absolutely. I thought she was going to win. Come on, she's Beyonce!”
Beck also addressed the question of 'artistry'. "You can't please everybody, man," he replied when queried about Kanye. "I still love him and think he's genius. I aspire to do what he does."
