John Legend Talks About People Trying to 'Armchair-Diagnose' His Friend Kanye West

John Legend is on the cover of WSJ. Magazine November 2018 Innovator’s issue, on newsstands on November 10.

Here’s what the 39-year-old entertainer and EGOT winner had to share with the mag…

On those who try and “armchair-diagnose” his friend Kanye West: “A lot of people have tried to armchair-diagnose him, but I leave it to him and his doctor to discuss what’s going on in his brain. Clearly I disagreed with some of the things he was saying, and I was worried that his saying it might empower some of the wrong forces, might be really demoralizing for people who looked up to him and thought of him as a leader.

On what Kanye sees in Trump: “I understand what Kanye sees in Trump and I think it’s a reaction to his personality and his marketing panache and don’t-give-a-f—ness. But my point to him was that when you wear that hat, when you appear to be endorsing him, you’re endorsing his policies as well, all of his rhetoric and not just the parts you like. I think we had to talk about it, because we didn’t want people to be deceived into following his line of thought without considering the full ramifications.”

On if he’d ever run for politics: “People ask me if I want to run for office, but I don’t. Maybe when I’m 60—who knows what the world is going to be then?—but I love my life now and what I get to do.

For more from John, visit WSJ.com.