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Louise Thomas
Editor
Kanye West has brought his controversial political views to the fashion world.
Over the weekend, the 41-year-old launched a new clothing range meant to promote the “Blexit” campaign, which urges black Americans to leave the Democratic party. Short for “black exit”, the term mimics Brexit, the term used for Britain’s exit from the European Union.
West’s merchandise – which includes hats and t-shirts – was launched at the Young Black Leadership Summit in Washington, where Turning Point USA’s communication director, Candace Owens, announced that West was behind the range.
“Blexit is a renaissance and I am blessed to say that this logo, these colours, were created by my dear friend and fellow superhero Kanye West,” she said.
“(West) has taken one of the boldest steps in America to open a conversation we have needed to have and I cannot tell you how badly he wishes he could be here.”
West has publicly offered admiration for Owens, a controversial pro-Donald Trump spokesperson who has been critical of the Black Lives Matter movement, on multiple occasions.
According to the Blexit website, the movement hopes to offer “free thinkers across the country” a place to ”release themselves from the political orthodoxy”.
Owens first attempted to proliferate the use of the term in 2016, publishing an open essay called “Blexit: In My Own Words”.
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“For decades, the black community has been in an emotionally abusive relationship with the Democrat Party,” she wrote on the website Breitbart.
“BLEXIT is a national movement of minorities that have awakened to the truth. It is for those who have taken an objective look at our decades-long allegiance to the left and asked ourselves ‘What do we have to show for it?’”
West has been an outspoken supporter of Trump for some time, recently visiting the President and often posting photos of himself wearing a Make America Great Again hat.
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