Hip-hop artist Kanye West has turned to social media to deny he was "stumped" after US talk show host Jimmy Kimmel asked him about US President Donald Trump.
Last Thursday, West made his first appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in nearly five years and was asked about whether US president Donald Trump cares about "people".
In this image released by ABC, musician Kanye west, left, and host Jimmy Kimmel appear on the set of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in Los Angeles. Source: American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
“You’ve so famously and so powerfully said, ‘George Bush doesn’t care about black people.’ Makes me wonder what makes you think that Donald Trump does, or any people at all," Kimmel asked West.
Following the question, West remained silent staring upwards, before Kimmel cut to a commercial break.
Social media users were quick to react to the unexpected silence, claiming West had been "stumped" by the question.
But on Sunday, West attempted to clarify his comments on Twitter claiming he wasn't "stumped" but needed time to think.
"On Jimmy Kimmel we had a great time having a dialogue. I’m reading that I was stumped by a question. Let me clarify the click bait. I wasn’t stumped. I wasn’t given a chance to answer the question," he wrote.
Kimmel came to the defence of West following the show, tweeting that not all questions "warrants an immediate answer".
Earlier in the show, Kimmel, an outspoken critic of the Trump administration, moved in on West's support of the president, which the artist admitted had more to do with personal choice and confounding critics than Trump's policies.
"Everyone around me tried to pick my candidate for me, and then told me every time I said I liked Trump that I couldn't say it out loud or my career would be over, I'd get kicked out of the black community," he said.
"So even when I said it right before I went to the hospital and I expressed myself... When I came out I had lost my confidence. And it took me a year and a half to have the confidence to stand up and put on the hat, no matter what the consequences were.
"What it represented to me is not about policies," he said.
"It represented overcoming fear and doing what you felt, no matter what anyone said. And saying, 'You can't bully me.' ... I enjoy when people are mad at me," he concluded.
West has previously referred to US President Donald Trump as his "brother" and they shared "dragon energy".
- With Variety
