Ye Responds to John Legend’s ‘Sad’ Comments: ‘At This Point I Got Disciples or Rivals’

The ongoing fallout between Ye and his former friend and collaborator John Legend just took another turn.

In a recent interview with The Times, not to be confused with the New York Times, Legend opened up about his long history with Ye, whom he once called a brother, and didn’t hold back when reflecting on Ye’s controversial spiral in recent years. Legend, 46, described his feelings about the artist’s evolution as “sad,” noting that the version of Ye he sees today is a far cry from the creative force he once knew.

“He had so much optimism, so much creativity,” Legend said of West in their early days. “It does feel sad, sometimes shocking, to see where he is now.”

Get this, Legend was one of the first artists to sign with Ye’s GOOD Music label in 2004 and became a central figure in Ye’s inner circle during the mid-2000s. But over time, the two drifted apart—particularly after West’s increasingly controversial public statements and political stances.

“I didn’t see a hint of what we’re seeing now—his obsessions with antisemitism, anti-blackness—and it is sad to see his devolution,” Legend continued. While he stopped short of diagnosing West, he pointed to the passing of Ye’s mother, Donda West, in 2007, as a key moment that may have triggered the downward shift.

“There was definitely a difference after his mother passed. His descent started then and seems to have accelerated recently,” he added.

Okay, so shortly after the interview went live, West, 47, appeared to respond with a cryptic and defiant post on social media, declaring:

“At this point I got disciples or rivals.”

Sheesh–that part.

While Ye didn’t mention Legend by name, the timing and tone of the comment made the target clear to fans and critics alike.

Okay, so the post came amid another wave of troubling online content from West, which included antisemitic rhetoric. Despite the backlash, West remains defiant, further complicating his public image and deepening the distance between himself and former collaborators like Legend.