John Legend Just Responded to Kanye West's Mashed Potatoes Insult
Sticks and stones may break bones, but mashed potatoes? John Legend's not losing sleep over it.
During a Tuesday, July 1 appearance on Hot 97's Ebro in the Morning, the 46-year-old 'All of Me' singer finally addressed Kanye West's oddball comment from earlier this year — the one where Ye claimed Legend 'smell like mashed potatoes.'
'He was very obsessed with the sweaters, and he said I smell like mashed potatoes,' Legend said. 'First of all, potatoes are delicious,' co-host Peter Rosenberg pointed out. 'What kind of potatoes?' Legend quipped back. 'I like cheesy, garlic… you know.'
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Rosenberg, 45, laughed with him after reassuring Legend that he smells 'fantastic,' but the EGOT winner made it clear the whole situation isn't funny so much as just plain sad.
'It never affects me personally, but just the whole story is sad,' he said. 'Seeing this guy praise Hitler, seeing this guy be like this force of hate and just like vitriol and nastiness. Somebody who has made some of the great art of this century, like as an artist, as a performer, as a fashion designer, all the things that he's done to make the world more beautiful and more interesting, and then for him to be this now, it's sad. It's just sad.'
For those who missed it, the original remark came from a March interview between the 48-year-old 'Gold Digger' rapper and DJ Akademiks. Dressed in all-black KKK-style robes, West randomly launched into a bizarre rant about Legend, calling him slurs and claiming, 'They said he smells like mashed potatoes.'
John legend really smell like mashed potatoes? pic.twitter.com/11nE1aSF1W
— Fly Kaison (@FlyKaison) April 2, 2025
While fans were left scratching their heads, the former Voice coach said he wasn't offended, but made it known: 'Obviously, I smell great.'
Legend also opened up about what it was like to know West before the chaos. He reflected on their early years making music together, back when the hip-hop artist was known for boundary-pushing beats, not unhinged rhetoric.
'He was full of so much energy and creativity and optimism,' Legend said. 'We really believed we were starting a new movement in music — and we were — and being a part of that was inspiring, it was truly inspiring.'
14 Years Ago Kanye West dropped the greatest song of all time Runaway pic.twitter.com/SzvTn8gSpm
— Jasper (@Jasp3r_0) October 4, 2024
The pair go way back. Legend was the first artist signed to West's GOOD Music label in 2004. At the time, he was still fighting for a record deal and traveling with the 'Heartless' artist as a singer and keyboard player. After The College Dropout took off, everything changed.
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'Everyone wanted to know what was happening in our camp,' Legend recalled in a May interview with The Times. 'All those people who turned me down suddenly decided that my music sounded a lot better than it did the first time round.'
Though they worked closely throughout the 2000s and into the early 2010s, Legend revealed he never saw this side of West. 'I didn't see a hint of what we're seeing now,' he told the outlet. 'His obsessions with antisemitism, anti-blackness, and it is sad to see his devolution.'
Music aside, Legend is a father of four — Luna, 9, Miles, 7, Esti, 2, and Wren, 2 — whom he shares with wife Chrissy Teigen. West also has four kids with ex-wife Kim Kardashian: North, 12, Saint, 9, Chicago, 7, and Psalm, 6.
John Legend Just Responded to Kanye West's Mashed Potatoes Insult first appeared on Parade on Jul 2, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
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