John Legend Reflects on the Loss & Legacy of Harry Belafonte

John Legend shared that Harry Belafonte had a profound impact on his life both professionally and personally.

Harry Belafonte, the singer and civil-right activist died at the age of 96 on Tuesday (April 25).

“He inspired me so much personally he became a friend of mine in the last 10 years or so we spent some private time together and I learned at his feet basically about all of the great work he’s done over the years.” John said at the 2023 TIME100 Summit.

Keep reading to find out more… “He lived such a long, powerful, revolutionary life,” John said. “If you think about what it means to be an artist and activist, he was the epitome of what that was. He used his platform in an almost subversive way to sneak messages in there of protest and revolution in everything he did.”

“He used those resources to fund the Civil Rights movement. He would show up with bags of cash for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other people who were marching with him when people’s lives were being taken for supporting that movement,” John said.

John concluded that Harry Belafonte is a model for artists like him and others who can use their art to bring people together and transcend boundaries.

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend welcomed baby girl Esti Maxine, back in January, and Chrissy shared what the baby’s name means back in February.