Kanye West (legally known as Ye since 2021) appeared on the Lex Fridman Podcast in October 2022 following widespread condemnation for antisemitic statements, including a tweet threatening to go "death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE." During the interview with Fridman, an AI researcher of Jewish heritage, West addressed his controversial views while discussing his business conflicts with fashion brands Adidas, Gap, Balenciaga, and LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault. West made several controversial statements, including comparing abortion and Planned Parenthood to the Holocaust, which Fridman directly challenged. The conversation also covered West's divorce from Kim Kardashian, his relationship with the Kardashian family, his architectural vision for "YZY Shelters" on his Wyoming and Calabasas properties, and his Christian faith. West described his fashion design philosophy and claimed significant industry influence through collaborations with figures like Virgil Abloh and Demna Gvasalia. The interview occurred during a tumultuous period when West was losing business partnerships, exploring an acquisition of social media platform Parler, and facing widespread criticism for statements about Jewish people, Black identity, and media control.
Kanye West (legally known as Ye since 2021) appeared on the Lex Fridman Podcast for an extensive conversation following his widely condemned antisemitic statements on social media and in previous interviews. The interview with Fridman, an AI researcher and podcaster of Jewish heritage, provided insights into West's controversial views, business conflicts, and personal philosophy during a period when his public statements had created significant backlash. Throughout the interview, West developed and repeatedly referenced his concept of humans as "beings with engineering opportunities," which became a central theme of their discussion.
The conversation occurred during a tumultuous period in West's career when he had made several controversial statements, including tweeting that he would go "death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE" and making antisemitic remarks in other media appearances. During the Fridman interview, West attempted to explain these statements while Fridman directly challenged his generalizations about Jewish people and media control.
When discussing his controversial statements about Jewish people in the entertainment industry, West attributed his "death con 3" tweet partly to being "sleepy" but maintained that his frustrations stemmed from what he described as systematic mistreatment by Jewish executives throughout his career. "I had the conversations beforehand before I got to the tweet. Now we're going to take it to the stage," West told Fridman, suggesting his public comments resulted from unresolved private grievances.
West repeatedly used phrases like "Jewish media" during the interview, prompting Fridman to challenge him directly: "When you say Jewish media, it's funny how this world works that way. When you say Jewish media or Jews are controlling the voice of black artists, black people... a large number of people that are hurting and have anger and even have hate in their heart. When they hear 'Jewish media,' that hate starts being directed towards Jewish people."
West initially resisted apologizing, comparing his situation to a hypothetical female assault victim who might say "I hate men" after repeated trauma. However, later in the interview, he offered a more direct statement: "Before God, what I would do is start off as a samurai and say, I'm sorry for hurting you as a Jewish person. I'm sorry for the way that made you feel. And I'm sorry for the entire population of a race that I feel is actually my brothers."
During their exchange, Fridman suggested West adopt an approach of criticizing specific individuals rather than entire groups: "You got a big voice, have the balls as a man to call out the individuals. Don't call them Jews, call them by their name, and start a war against those individuals. They're not Jewish." West appeared to consider this approach, asking Fridman "if that's the case, will you help me with that?" to which Fridman responded, "Sure. 100%. Like, assholes are assholes."
West discussed his business relationships with major fashion brands just as many were publicly severing ties with him. Regarding Balenciaga, West made surprising financial claims: "I spent somewhere between $5 to $10 million personally on Balenciaga. How much money do you think Balenciaga had paid me in the past two years? Zero." He further claimed that he had recently paid "$862,000, not in clothes for me from Balenciaga, from the store, in royalties to Balenciaga." Despite these issues, West insisted, "Demna will still work for Ye someday," referring to Balenciaga's creative director Demna Gvasalia.
West also discussed his failed Yeezy Gap partnership, explaining that he had brought Demna in to "engineer the best product for the people" at accessible price points. "I brought Demna to Gap to be able to bring the best product in the world. At that time, I wanted to go under $100. Now I'm like, okay, we're going to go $20 a product," West said, adding that "Gap didn't want that. Balenciaga didn't want that. Our agendas were not aligned."
He claimed he was "brought in to the Gap for political reasons and influence, like a Virgil, like a George Floyd. When popular celebrities are brought into Fortune 500 companies, it's not to raise the stock. It's to strengthen the position and influence. And it's definitely not to be out here letting a nigga think he's Steve Jobs."
West provided a detailed account of his conflict with LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, whom he accused of deliberately undermining his fashion career. According to West, after his successful 2015 Yeezy fashion show (which he claimed was attended by figures including Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Anna Wintour), Arnault became concerned about his growing influence in fashion.
"Bernard Arnault caught wind of this. What's going on? They're building up something and we need to stop it," West recounted. He claimed Arnault initially offered him backing for his clothing line with a 51/49 ownership split favoring LVMH, but later withdrew the offer after West had already made plans to end his apparel partnership with Adidas.
"He meets with me and politely offered me backing for my clothing line. It would be Kanye West. They would get 49%, 51%, I would get 49%. They'd have control and they were going to give me all of the support from Louis Vuitton," West explained. He claimed the deal fell through when he requested a written contract from Bernard Arnault, and his son Alexander allegedly said, "my dad will never go back on his word." According to West, "Three months into the deal... they said that Bernard Arnault got freaked out. And then Alexander Arnault calls me and says, the deal got dropped at the board."
West alleged this was part of a pattern where Arnault attempted to disrupt his growing influence: "They broke the gang up. And I'm telling you right now, had that not happened, Virgil's alive. I'm still married." This referenced his close collaborator Virgil Abloh, who later became Louis Vuitton's menswear artistic director before passing away from cancer.
During the interview, West briefly mentioned his interest in the social media platform Parler, which he had recently announced plans to purchase. "I actually am really interested in the engineering aspects of Parler," West told Fridman, though he did not elaborate on specific plans for the platform.
West expressed concerns about censorship on social media and in mainstream media, referencing how his Drink Champs appearance had been removed from distribution. "Did I prove that there was censorship over the past two weeks? I proved it," West stated. When Fridman asked who had censored him, West replied, "Drink champs... Nora took it down," referring to the removal of his controversial interview with N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN.
The Parler acquisition discussion coincided with Elon Musk's then-pending Twitter acquisition, which West referenced during the conversation. West's interest in alternative social media platforms reflected his frustration with what he perceived as censorship of his views on mainstream platforms.
West spoke candidly about his divorce from Kim Kardashian, which had been filed in February 2021 after seven years of marriage. Using a Super Mario Brothers metaphor, West described Kardashian as a princess being held in "King Koopa's castle," referring to comedian Pete Davidson, who dated Kardashian after their separation.
"I'll think about my family and I'll think about Kim and I'll think about how, you know, King Koopa has her in the castle right now," West told Fridman. "Just on Mario brothers, you know how it is. Just go for the princess and you get to this level and it's like, I'm like, I sung the song wrong. Right. And then they take the princess again."
West expressed continued admiration for Kardashian, calling her his "favorite of all time" and attributing her appeal to her DNA being "a mix of Rob and Chris [Kardashian]." When Fridman asked what he loved most about Kim, West responded, "It's just the DNA is like, she's a mix of Rob and Chris," adding, "that's like a really high pool right there. Those are like two geniuses."
West disclosed a particularly personal detail about learning of Davidson's relationship with Kardashian: "The day I had Sunday service, my kids are supposed to be there and my kids were nowhere to be found. And I text Kim and said, where are my kids? We get into an argument. And then I get a text from a number I don't know. And it's Pete Davidson bragging about being in bed with my wife." Rather than reacting violently, West said he went to Japan "like the samurai that I am" to process his emotions.
Throughout the interview, West expressed frustration about his relationship with the Kardashian family, particularly Kris Jenner: "The reason why I get frustrated with Kris Jenner is she says losing Rob Kardashian was the greatest mistake of her life. But she never gave Kim's hand over in marriage... she had to still be the husband to all of her daughters. And we see what the results are consistently."
One of the most controversial segments of the Fridman interview involved West's comparison between abortion and the Holocaust. When Fridman mentioned his Jewish family members who perished in the Holocaust, West responded: "A friend of mine said, oh, come, go visit the Holocaust Museum. And my response was, let's visit our Holocaust Museum, Planned Parenthood."
West claimed that "50% of Black deaths is actually abortion" and characterized this as "genocide and population control," stating: "The clinics were made by eugenics for population control and it is controlling the population." He further asserted that "the most dangerous place for a Black person in America is in their mother's stomach."
Fridman strongly objected to this comparison: "With all due respect, I grew up in the Soviet Union. I'm Jewish. Parts of my family perished in the Holocaust of Nazi Germany. I have to push back that there is a difference of the atrocities at that scale, at that time, on an entire people." This exchange highlighted West's tendency to make provocative historical comparisons to emphasize his points about contemporary social issues.
West insisted on drawing parallels between historical atrocities and contemporary issues affecting Black Americans: "Six million people died in the Holocaust. Over 20 million have died by the hands of abortion. And the media promotes the My Body, My Choice, which is actually still a promotion for Planned Parenthood."
During the conversation, West sketched and described his vision for innovative living spaces he called "cells" - approximately 40,000 square foot structures with natural light, air, and water systems flowing from the top. "What it's a screen, it doesn't go all the way to the top and it's one hole for light, but the water and the light and air all come in from the top. So that's like the mouth," West explained while drawing.
He described these structures as having both "dry rooms" (traditional living spaces) and "wet rooms" with constant water flow systems: "You have the dry room, which people would have called a living room before. And then you have the wet room."
West revealed he had purchased significant property with plans to develop these concepts: "I bought land in Calabasas. I bought two ranches in Wyoming. 300 acres in Calabasas. 12,000 acres in total in Wyoming. And I started building ideas for shelters. And God set it on my heart to make monasteries, which would be modern day facilities that don't turn people down. That have farms, that have shelter, clothing, but first of all, water, first of all, knowledge."
When Fridman asked about the motivation behind these architectural projects, West simply answered: "Happiness." He connected these concepts to his broader vision for improving society through innovative living environments that would promote sustainable communities.
As the founder of the Yeezy brand, West discussed his design principles in detail, explaining practical considerations like his preference for zipper hoodies over pullovers because "the zipper hoodie replaces the dress shirt" while offering more flexibility. "You could get on your douchebag shit and, like, unzip it and give it a little bit of that type of look," he explained, comparing it to men who "unbutton their dress shirt" for a certain aesthetic.
West emphasized sustainability as a central constraint in his design process: "I take a responsibility as being the most influential designer of all time to say we're going to use biodegradable clothing." He noted specific material challenges, such as the non-biodegradable nature of elastic waistbands: "The elastic is not biodegradable. So that means it's actually better to use jeans and a belt than to have an elastic waistband because elastic waistband is not biodegradable."
West claimed significant influence in the fashion world, describing how his 2015 Yeezy fashion show featured collaborators who later became major industry figures: "You had Jerry Lorenzo, that's head of Fear of God. You had Kim Schraub, head of Skims. You had Virgil Abloh, head of Louis Vuitton. You had Demna, head of Balenciaga, all working for Yee, for the leader, for the philosopher."
He positioned himself as revolutionizing fashion shows with his Madison Square Garden event: "We took over MSG," referring to his Yeezy Season 3 show at New York's Madison Square Garden in February 2016, which combined a fashion presentation with the premiere of his album "The Life of Pablo."
Throughout the interview, West made numerous statements about Black identity, community challenges, and historical context. He referenced what he described as systemic oppression of Black communities, stating the "CIA removed the leaders from the Black community, put crack in the communities, put guns in the communities, and locked up all the leaders and called them gang leaders."
West expressed concern about Black intellectuals being separated from their communities: "When the Black people that are brilliant are separated from our culture, we forget who we are. And we'll get to a point where, you know, OJ is saying I'm not Black, I'm OJ." This referenced O.J. Simpson's famous quote distancing himself from racial identity.
He criticized the music industry for promoting unhealthy cultural values: "If I load up Apple Music right now and I play the top songs in the rap chart, I would tell you my people are sick." West connected these issues to broader economic and health concerns: "If I go to the restaurants in Opportunity Zones and we look at the calorie rating and the cholesterol, I would tell you that my people are sick. If we look at the obesity rate, if you go to just a restaurant somewhere in Middle America, Denny's or something, I went to Denny's the other day, you will see that my people are sick."
West discussed his responsibility as a Black business owner: "As a Black owner of two tech platforms, hardware and software, I need to take action... And I need to take accountability and ensuring that Black engineers are hired." He suggested that creating Black-owned and Black-staffed companies might be necessary "for my people to have power again."
Despite these race-specific concerns, West also advocated for racial unity at various points, stating "we are one species, we are one race, we're here" and describing the need to "find the blue water" - areas of agreement across racial and political divides.
West repeatedly emphasized his Christian faith throughout the interview, stating: "I believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and died for our sins." This aligned with his public religious turn that had become prominent in his music and public persona in recent years.
"I know I have protection. I have God's protection. That's why I'm here to this date," West stated, suggesting divine purpose behind his controversial public statements. He described himself as "anointed" and insisted that despite personal setbacks, "God is alive... and God runs the world."
At several points, West reflected on whether his statements in the interview aligned with his faith: "I wonder just as a Christian, right? When I joke and say this stuff, I, it's like, hmm, am I being disobedient to God? Because as a boss, right, I'll talk to an employee and I'll be like, why didn't you just listen? Because I've got the bigger plan, right? So it's like me talking to God."
West framed his entire public mission in religious terms: "I am fighting a battle in the spiritual form. And anyone that believes in God and is looking at this interview would agree with that. And I just so happen to be a bright part of God's army. I'm fighting for us to live. The greatest gift is life itself. I am pro-life. I am pro-God."
He connected his religious views to his stance on abortion, portraying himself as defending life against what he characterized as an anti-Christian agenda: "I want my family... I want to be an American and protect my kids and protect my wife and raise my kids as Christians. And have my wife be a Christian."
When Fridman asked about his desired legacy, West gave a philosophical answer: "To be forgotten." He explained that truly successful designs become so ubiquitous that their creators fade from memory: "Who designed the sidewalk? Who designed the water fountain? Who designed the stop sign? These things are so ubiquitous that the person that designed them is forgotten."
West characterized this anonymity as the ultimate success: "If it's a good idea, it's a God idea... So you want your designs in all realms of life to be so simple that they permeate everything. They take over. And you are forgotten. That's a successful design, is you're forgotten."
This perspective revealed West's understanding of impact beyond personal recognition, suggesting his ultimate ambition was to create innovations so fundamental they would become invisible parts of everyday life. Despite the controversies surrounding him, West maintained that his ultimate goal was positive societal change through his creative work across multiple disciplines.
West positioned himself and Elon Musk as transformative leaders: "The leadership is changing, because you have Elon as a leader, Ye as a leader, and we are the top leaders. We're more influential than the presidents." This statement reflected his sense of cultural impact beyond traditional political structures.
When asked what advice he would give to young people who look up to him, West initially joked, "Don't tweet while you're sleepy," referencing his controversial social media posts. He then offered more substantive guidance: "Do what you feel. Say what you feel. Like trust your heart... Trust your gut. Trust your instincts. Because that instinct is who God made you to be... God has something inside of you... Be the maximum you."
West articulated a theory about what he called "social engineering" and media manipulation throughout the interview. He criticized both traditional media and social media platforms for their influence on public opinion, particularly regarding race and politics.
"The chaos that's created by the media has split the country in half," West claimed, suggesting media organizations deliberately create division. He specifically mentioned Black Lives Matter, arguing: "BLM took a Black person, showed his death on camera... it was done on purpose by the media" to manipulate public sentiment.
West compared media influence to emotional manipulation in entertainment: "What schools are doing is exactly what the CIA does with Pixar films and Disney films. They make Bambi's mom die in the beginning, right? And off that pain comes a purchase of ice cream. Off that pain comes I need some more toys." He characterized such manipulation as creating "orphans of capitalism" who become consumers rather than community members.
He expressed frustration with how media portrayed his mental health: "Every time, even if I wore the wrong color hat that a nigger is not supposed to wear, right, then they immediately say he's off of his shit, he's off his meds, he's off his rocker." West revealed he had been "diagnosed with bipolar disorder" but claimed he hadn't "been to the hospital since" and hadn't "taken medication in two years."
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Kanye West (Ye) and Lex Fridman 2022 Interview
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