Many of Hollywood’s A-listers have expressed outrage and disbelief at Kanye West‘s controversial comments about slavery, and now Kobe Bryant is the latest star to weigh in.
The basketball legend surprised a group of 300 high school students at WE RISE — a pop-up festival dedicated to inspiring change in the mental health system — in Los Angeles on Tuesday and was asked how he felt about West’s statements.
“I’m sure the same way everybody else here in this room feels,” he responded. “‘What the hell are you talking about?’ I think that was my reaction as is everybody else’s reaction.”
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While acknowledging that Americans have the “right to say whatever it is that you want to say,” Bryant, 39, added that West is “one of these entertainers that’s always in a constant state of growth” and “doing a lot of questioning internally himself.”
However, the athlete reiterated that he “completely” disagrees with West’s statements.
RELATED: Kanye West Calls Slavery a ‘Choice’ in Controversial New Interview
Earlier this month, the rapper, 40, faced backlash when he implied that slavery was a “choice” for African-Americans during an interview on TMZ Live.
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Over the course of the conversation, during which he was accompanied by conservative commentator Candace Owens, the outspoken artist sounded off on the centuries African-Americans spent shackled in servitude.
“You hear about slavery for 400 years. For 400 years?! That sounds like a choice,” said West. “You were there for 400 years and it was all of y’all? It’s like we’re meant to be in prison. I like the word ‘prison’ because slavery goes too direct to the idea of blacks. Prison is something that unites us as one race.”
The musician further clarified his comments on Twitter afterwards, writing “Of course I know that slaves did not get shackled and put on a boat by free will.”
He continued, “if this was 148 years ago I would have been more like Harriet or Nat,” adding, “My point is for us to have stayed in that position even though the numbers were on our side means that we were mentally enslaved.”