Kanye West said his video “Eazy” was just “art” that didn’t mean to cause “any ill or harm” to Pete Davidson in real life.
The 44-year-old rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, released a video of his new song featuring The Game last week.
In the video, he buries alive a cartoon figure bearing a resemblance to Davidson.
The Saturday Night Live star is currently dating Ye’s estranged wife, Kim Kardashian, who was granted her request to be declared “legally single” by a judge on 2 March.
Davidson is mentioned in the lyrics of the track, with Ye saying: “God saved me from the crash, just so I can beat Pete Davidson’s ass.”
Soon after watching the video, many viewers expressed their unease with the Grammy-award winner’s actions in the clip.
In a new Instagram post on Sunday (6 March), Ye clarified that his video was just a form of “art”.
“Art is therapy just like this view,” he wrote. “Art is protected as freedom of speech. Art inspires and simplifies the world. Art is not a proxy for any ill or harm. Any suggestion otherwise about my art is false and mal intended.”
The original “Eazy” video features clay stop-motion. At one point, a figure seemingly modelled after Ye is seen dragging a tied-up body along the ground.
A bag is then removed from the captive’s face, revealing a figure who viewers believe resembles Davidson.
The cartoon Ye then sprinkles rose seeds over the figure’s face. Later in the video, roses sprout from his head, which are loaded onto a pickup truck.
At the end of the video, a message appears on screen reading: “Everyone lived happily ever after.”
Another slide had the words: “Except Skete” – the derogatory nickname Ye has previously used to refer to Davidson. The word “Skete”, however, is crossed out, and replaced with, “you know who”.
“JK he’s fine,” the rapper added in a final frame.
Director James Gunn and actor Kaley Cuoco have voiced their support for Davidson since Ye released his video.
