Kanye West questions amendment that ended slavery

Called to serve as a last-minute replacement on Saturday Night Live, Kanye West closed the show with a performance of a track off his latest album, Ye, wearing one of President Donald Trump's signature "Make America Great Again" red caps.

After the live show ended, West stayed on the microphone and gave an impromptu speech about politics, again voicing his support for the president.

"So many times I talk to a white person about this and they say, 'How could you like Trump? He's racist,'" West said, according to footage posted on Instagram by comedian Chris Rock. "Well, if I was concerned about racism, I would have moved out of America a long time ago."

Throughout the videos, Rock can be heard laughing and whispering "oh my God" while the audience boos West.

The US president himself paid tribute Kanye West's act on Twitter. In his typical style, he belittled SNL as "just a political ad for the Dems" while bragging that he once hosted the show.

Enigmatic posts on the 13th amendment

West further repeated his support for Trump's policies in a tweet to his 28.5 million followers posted on Sunday. It shows him sitting in a private plane once again wearing a MAGA cap.

The post controversially states "abolish the 13th amendment," referring to the Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that outlines the abolition of slavery.

An hour later, West added in another tweet, "the 13th Amendment is slavery in disguise meaning it never ended."

Read more: Kanye West calls slavery a 'choice'

The rapper finally appeared to backtrack on his statement another hour later, writing "not abolish but. let's amend the 13th amendment."

Some commentators have pointed out that a part of the 13th amendment also allows prisons to use inmates for slave labor, as demonstrated in Ava Duvernay's 2016 Netflix documentary, 13th; West was perhaps referring to this aspect of the amendment.

The artist formally known as Ye

Before appearing on Saturday Night Live, the rapper also announced he was changing his name on Twitter. "The being formally (sic) known as Kanye West," he wrote in a post, adding, "I am YE." While he changed his Twitter name to Ye, his handle remained @kanyewest.

eg/ct (AFP, dpa)