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May 4, 2018

Kanye West will 'explain himself when the time is ready,' mother-in-law Kris Jenner says

WATCH: Kanye West criticized for slavery comments
AUTHOR PHOTO: Joi-Marie McKenzie By Joi-Marie McKenzie

Kris Jenner isn't concerned about son-in-law Kanye West's controversial comments on just about everything -- from slavery to President Donald Trump, to free thought.

"Kanye has a lot of love for all of you, all of his fans, and everybody who's been there to support him forever," the Kardashian matriarch said today on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." "And I know that he will explain himself in his own way."

Jenner, 62, added, "Anything he does -- and I think this is important to say -- he always does things with really good intentions. So I'm going to let him explain himself when the time is ready."

/> The reality-TV star, whose daughter Kim Kardashian West married West in 2014, also noted that after season 14 of their hit show, "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," which concluded in March, the family is already filming seasons 15 and 16. So could West's antics just be a plot line on their show? Or is it performance art? One writer, Spencer Wolff, believes West could simply be attempting to pull off an Andy Kaufman-style performance-art piece centered on the idea of embracing Trump and the so-called alt-right.

Kaufman, who died in 1984 from lung cancer, was a self-described "song and dance man" who often never broke character when pulling off his own antics such as wrestling women or bickering with Jerry “The King” Lawler.

West, 40, has been open about his admiration for the president, even calling Trump "my brother." Many of his fans cried foul, noting that most of his advocacy and rap lyrics seem to paint a different person on the opposite side of the political spectrum than Trump.

As evidence, Wolff points to a mood board West tweeted last week that had the word "Andy" written on it.

"Kanye’s turn -- making the ordinary thing something extraordinary -- has been his complete reversal of ideals and decision to align himself with prominent figures from far right conservatism," Wolff wrote on Pigeons and Planes.

"Is Kanye West ... attempting to turn a symbol, which is perceived to be racist or hateful into his own, with a new meaning?" Wolff continued, referencing the time when West wore a "Make America Great Again" hat.

Other music fans, who believe this theory, point to West's recent interview with radio personality Charlamagne Tha God where he explained why he met with Trump.

"This was the [Kanye] that wanted to do something to change something. And I would meet with him today," he said. "Before we can plant the trees and add the beauty, we gotta break some things."

Others point to the rapper's recent tweets that read, "Art is the threat to authority" and "Art is the escape hatch from oppression."

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