Aside from talking about his portrayal of Richard Poythress in the Luca Guadagnino-created series, the 'Day 'n' Nite' hitmaker opens up about his longtime friendship with Kanye West.
- October 1, 2020
AceShowbiz - Rapper/actor Kid Cudi was unsure about portraying a supporter of controversial U.S. President Donald Trump on TV because he worried fans would mistake him for a real-life Republican.
The "Day 'n' Nite" hitmaker stars in "Call Me by Your Name" director Luca Guadagnino's new series, "We Are Who We Are", a coming-of-age drama about two American kids growing up on a fictional U.S. military base in Italy in 2016.
However, he had concerns about one particular scene early on On the series, as his character, Richard Poythress, the strong-willed officer father of one of the protagonists, excitedly unwraps a package containing two red caps bearing Trump's 2016 campaign slogan, Make America Great Again.
"I read the scripts and at first I was taken aback, because I have my beliefs," Cudi told Esquire magazine of the storyline. "I'm not a Trump supporter. I don't know if the world knows that, but I was just really concerned about what people may think."
"I talked to Luca and it all made sense to me at the end of the day," he continued of understanding the importance of the father/daughter bonding scene. "Look, it's a character I'm playing and I was fully invested in that, you know?"
"At the end of the day, I hope that people can accept that for what it is, and not go and be like, 'Oh, s**t, Cudi's a Trump supporter now - he's wearing a MAGA hat.'"
Cudi also feared his longtime friendship with former mentor and frequent collaborator Kanye West would make viewers think he really was a fan of Trump, as Kim Kardashian's outspoken husband hasn't been shy in his praise for the real estate mogul-turned-world leader, who is known for making racist, xenophobic, and/or misogynistic remarks.
"I thought some people would be foolish about it and be like, 'Oh, he must've talked to Kanye' or 'Kanye must've got to him' or some s**t like that," Cudi explained of their relationship. "I think he knows where I stand (politically), and I think he doesn't bring it up to me. We just don't talk about it. I totally disagree with it; I think he knows that. And if he doesn't know, he knows now."
However, just because they don't see eye-to-eye on politics doesn't mean the "Westworld" actor isn't still close with Kanye, who is actually running for the White House himself this year.
"That's my brother. I'll go on record: That's my brother. I love him," Cudi stated. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to agree with everything he f**king says and he f**king does, you know?"
