Kanye West’s latest Instagram appears to be a follow-up to his since-deleted post that received a major amount of backlash. In case you missed it, the “Famous” rapper shared a disturbing video for his single “Easy,” in which he decapitated and buried his estranged wife Kim Kardashian’s new boyfriend Pete Davidson. On Sunday (March 6), Kanye seemingly defended the clip by saying “art” is intended to “inspire,” rather than “harm.”
“Art is therapy just like this view,” Kanye began his caption of a black-and-white image of a church on fire. “Art is protected as freedom of speech; art inspires and simplifies the world; Art is not a proxy for any ill or harm; Any suggestion otherwise about my art is false and mal intended.” The Grammy winner concluded the post with a black heart emoji.
Despite the shocking music video including a graphic animation scene in which he is beheaded and buried, Pete was apparently “amused” by the situation. “Pete saw Kanye’s video and honestly, he thought it was hilarious,” a source EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife. “Pete was pretty amused by the whole thing and he wasn’t bothered by the graphic animation or anything else. He actually thinks it’s kind of cool and in a weird way he’s actually flattered that Kanye put that much attention into him. Pete thinks it’s a dope video and has no problem with it whatsoever.”
Kim, however, didn’t see it in the same rosy light. “Kim didn’t find this funny at all, but she was able to let it go when she saw that Pete was amused by it,” a second source EXCLUSIVELY told us. “He told her that you can’t take this stuff too seriously or Kanye is getting what he wants – a reaction. She isn’t harping on this anymore and she is just letting it go.”
Meanwhile, Kanye and Kim will continue their bitter divorce battle, even though the former Keeping Up with the Kardashians star appeared to take home a win when a judge granted her request to be declared legally single on Wednesday (March 2). She is now legally known again as simply “Kim Kardashian.” While the judge granted Kim’s request to have her maiden name restored, he did deny Kanye’s motion to prevent her from transferring assets out of trusts set up during the marriage.