Forgiving an old friend and making music with him are two different propositions, at least as far as John Legend is concerned. The singer hasn't ruled out speaking privately with Kanye West, but he's considerably less interested in reviving their creative partnership. His reservations have little to do with their personal disagreements and much more to do with West's history of inflammatory remarks about Black and Jewish communities.
While promoting his new album, Muse, Legend told Complex where things stand with his former G.O.O.D. Music collaborator. "He's not reached out to me," Legend said. "So I don't want to act like I've refused to meet up with him or talk with him. But if we did talk, it wouldn't be a public reunion. It would be man-to-man, like a private conversation."
"I don't have a hard time forgiving anybody personally for any slight — and, you know, he's said a few stray comments about me. But he hasn't done much to harm me, or with the intent to harm me at all."
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John Legend Isn't Interested In Making Music With Kanye West Again
The two musicians have a history stretching back to the early 2000s, when West helped launch Legend's career through G.O.O.D. Music and executive produced his debut album, Get Lifted. Their relationship deteriorated years later, particularly after Legend declined to support West's 2020 presidential campaign. In a 2022 interview, Legend acknowledged that their political disagreements had damaged their friendship.
West has since faced widespread condemnation for repeatedly making antisemitic statements and praising Adolf Hitler. In January 2026, he purchased a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal apologizing for his behavior and discussing his mental health struggles. He acknowledged the harm his conduct caused while expressing a desire to make amends.
Legend, however, doesn't believe the public apology sufficiently addresses the damage. He told Complex that West needs to make a greater effort to repair his relationship with the communities he offended rather than focus on reconciling with individual celebrities. "Any forgiveness that he needs to seek isn't about anything he's done to me," Legend stated. "I feel like what he's done to society has been really harmful. What he said about entire communities has been really harmful. The Black community, the Jewish community, those things have been really harmful."
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"I don't think I'm interested in making art with him," Legend also shared, although he acknowledged that his feelings could change years down the line. He also emphasized that the rapper's earlier personal insults weren't significant enough to prevent a future conversation.
The subject arose as Legend celebrated Friday's (Oct. 23) release of Muse, his first full-length collaboration with Pharrell Williams. Interestingly, Legend recently told the Associated Press that West's involvement in executive producing his earlier albums was one reason a complete Pharrell-produced project hadn't happened sooner. Now working with Republic Records, he says he has greater independence to pursue whichever creative partnerships interest him. That freedom has finally brought his decades-long friendship with Pharrell into the studio for an entire album, with Clipse appearing on the song "Bodies on the Floor."
