Kanye West's 2020 presidential campaign advisor recalls infamous 'train wreck' speech in which the rapper referenced Harriet Tubman: 'He said some stuff that was just way out there'
- Kanye West's 2020 presidential campaign advisor recalled the rapper's infamous speech in which he referenced Harriet Tubman.
- "Train wreck," John Boyd described the speech in a new BBC documentary about Ye.
Kanye West's 2020 presidential campaign advisor John Boyd has recalled the rapper's infamous speech in South Carolina in which he referenced Harriet Tubman, describing it as a "train wreck."
In the July 2020 speech, his first event after declaring himself a presidential candidate, West, now known as Ye, claimed Tubman "never actually freed the slaves, she just had them work for other white people."
Tubman was the famous abolitionist and activist who, after escaping slavery herself, helped enslaved Black men and women escape enslavement and gain their freedom.
During the speech, Ye also broke into tears while mentioning that his father wanted him aborted, and suggested that everyone who has a baby should be given "$1 million" to discourage the practice.
"He said some stuff that was just way out there, especially his comments about Harriet Tubman," recalled Boyd, who was stood behind Ye during the speech, in a new BBC documentary about the rapper.
Speaking to journalist Mobeen Azhar in "The Trouble with KanYe," which airs Wednesday night in the UK, Boyd said Ye had planned to share his "10-point" plan for America, which included addressing issues such as education, freedom of religion, and foreign policy, but the rapper went off script.
"I thought he'd deviate a little bit, but what he said was just completely different," he said.
Asked by Azhar how he felt watching the chaos unfold, Boyd said: "Train wreck. I'm thinking, 'You're going to lose control over this whole scenario.'"
Despite Ye receiving widespread backlash for his comments, Boyd said that the controversial speech also gained him a new group of fans.
"He gained a lot of respect from a lot of people on the right, just for being so bold on their core issues, namely abortion," he said.
"If a part of his audience is pushing back, he's going to gravitate towards a part of his audience that's celebrating him," added Boyd. "Where it's gonna land, where it's gonna end up at, I don't know."