Kanye West had a lot of people scratching their heads after he sent a tweet about the 13th Amendment.
“We will no longer outsource to other countries,” he wrote Sunday. “We build factories here in America and create jobs. We will provide jobs for all who are free from prisons as we abolish the 13th amendment. Message sent with love.”
He then sent another message for clarification.
“The 13th Amendment is slavery in disguise,” Kanye tweeted. “Meaning it never ended. We are the solution that heals.”
After both tweets surfaced, people immediately expressed their confusion and many weren’t sure if the rapper was for slavery or against it. Part of the 13th Amendment says the following:
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
“Hold up,” someone tweeted. “Besides the album stuff, did I hear Kanye say he wants to abolish the 13th amendment? The one that ended slavery?”
But someone said the Chicago producer wants to remove the part about slavery being legal for prisoners.
“[The] 13th amendment abolished slavery, but specifies that slavery/indentured servitude are legal punishments for crime,” tweeted someone named Tre. “Basically, Kanye wants to abolish the corrupt private for-profit prisons.”
After Tre’s explanation, some liked Kanye’s idea, while others said he has no clue what he’s talking about.
“No he’s not referring to the crime punishment, he’s just stupid,” someone wrote. “He said something stupid, and now he’s trying to cover it up by saying ‘amend’ instead of ‘abolish.'”
“That goes against the very people he’s aligned himself with because they own those prisons,” another person tweeted.
Kanye announced that he’ll visit “TMZ Live” on Monday (Oct.1), where he’ll explain what he meant in the tweet.
