Here’s why Teyana Taylor won’t ditch friendship with Kanye despite his antisemitic hate speech
She's sticking by him
Teyana Taylor has never been the type to do the easy, obvious, PR-safe thing, and that’s exactly why her latest comments about Kanye West (now Ye) have everyone talking.
While plenty of people have publicly distanced themselves from him after his repeated antisemitic rants, Teyana’s stance is more complicated.
She’s not co-signing the chaos, but she’s also not throwing away a relationship that’s been built over years…
Ye and Teyana’s bond goes way back
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If you know Teyana’s career arc, you know Ye isn’t some random celeb acquaintance, he’s been part of her professional story for a long time. Teyana told PEOPLE she first met him during his Glow in the Dark tour in 2008, and their connection grew from there.
Fast-forward a couple years, and she’s not just around, she’s contributing. According to PEOPLE, Teyana provided background vocals on Ye’s 2010 track “Dark Fantasy,” and by 2012 she’d signed to G.O.O.D. Music and Def Jam.
And then there’s the pop-culture moment that permanently fused their names in people’s heads… Teyana starring in the “Fade” video in 2016, the one that had everyone gagged because her dancing was that iconic. Vanity Fair still clocks that video as a major moment for her.
Why she won’t ‘abandon’ Ye
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Teyana has let the world know that she’s refusing to cut Ye off, even with his track record of antisemitic hate speech.
Ye’s antisemitic statements in late 2022 and beyond were widely condemned and led to major fallout with brands and partners.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Teyana framed her position quite simply. She essentially said she doesn’t have to agree with everything Ye does to still love him.
She said: “I don’t have to agree with everything that he do or say, but I’m not going to, like, abandon him and be like, ‘Yeah, eff that motherf*****,’ my brothers do shit that I don’t agree with…. I don’t get into none of that.”
She compares it to how you move with family, explaining how you can check them, disagree, even be disappointed, but it doesn’t automatically mean you erase the relationship.
Teyana added: “If you want a real answer, you ask me. So if he asks me something, he knows he’s gonna get a real answer… I do my shit behind the scenes and do what I need to do to help…”
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