From Stevie Wonder to G Herbo, a number of stars have shared their own takes on Kanye West's controversial comments about slavery. Now, Kobe Bryant has some thoughts of his own. Kobe, who was speaking to a group of Los Angeles high school students at an event called We Rise LA, was asked by a junior reporter about his first reaction to the rapper's controversial statement, TMZ reports.
"I'm sure the same way everyone else here in this room [feels]... the hell are you talking about?" he said. He went on to explain that while Americans should enjoy the right to free speech (and, as West would probably argue, free thought), you can't ignore the backlash that might come along with it. "The thing about our country is that you have the right to say whatever it is that you want to say," Bryant explained. "Conversely, you also have to take the responses that come after that as well because everybody has the freedom to say what it is that they feel... I just take it for what it is and completely disagree."
West's comments, in which he called slavery "a choice," capped off public support for Donald Trump and other conservative figures, text message screenshots, and phone calls to Ebro. While some chalked 'Ye's behavior up to mental health concerns, many others saw, and still see, a man and artist who is constantly changing. "For him, he's one of these entertainers that's always in a constant state of growth," Bryant added. "He's always challenging not us as people but really himself. He's doing a lot of questioning internally himself."
It's safe to say things have changed for both Kobe and Kanye since their Nike commercial appearance.
