Kanye West wore a MAGA hat and a Free Hoover shirt for his final performance on SNL
Kanye West made a stir on the SNL stage with his fashion choices on Saturday night.
The rapper, who hours earlier renamed himself ‘Ye’, promoted President Donald Trump and jailed gang leader Larry Hoover with his outfits, as he performed three times during the show.
In the finale, West was seen in a Make America Great Again Hat as well as a Free Hoover sweatshirt.
Earlier this week, the rapper claimed to have redesigned the MAGA hat, by changing the brim and the shape of the front. He also told Fader he added ‘positive energy’ to the hat.
While West has worn his MAGA hat a number of times, his sweatshirt appeared to confuse fans, but many concluded it must refer to Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover.
Hoover founded the Chicago street gang the Gangster Disciples. He is currently serving six life sentences in Florence, Colorado.
West did not elaborate on why he wanted to free Hoover, but he is selling the sweatshirt for $90 on his online store.
The rapper said this week he had ‘redesigned’ the controversial hat and ‘put positive energy into it’. It is unclear why Kanye was wearing a Free Hoover shirt, but it appears to be related to Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover
Fans on social media appeared divided about the outfit, with some supporting Kanye’s political views, and others claiming it made them shut off the television completely.
The controversial hat and top were not the strangest things West wore on Saturday.
In his first performance, West and Lil Pump donned water bottle costumes as they sang ‘I love it’.
The rapper replaced Ariana Grande as the musical guest on SNL after she cancelled her appearance for ’emotional reasons.’
After the finale, where he sang Ghost Town from Ye with 070 Shake, Kid Cudi, and Ty Dolla $ign, Kanye made a speech.
In a softly spoken sermon delivered above slowly-played chords, West spoke about his approval of Donald Trump, running in 2020 and how things can progress in America.
‘So many times I talk to a white person about this and [they] say, “How could you like Trump? He’s racist.”,’ he said.
‘Well, if I was concerned about racism I would’ve moved out of America a long time ago.’
Comedian Chris Rock filmed parts of the speech, and can be heard whispering ‘oh my god’ as the rapper continued.
West’s new album, YANDHI, dropped during the show.