John Legend is saddened by the "devolution" of Kanye West

John told The Times newspaper: "Back then Kanye was very passionate, very gifted, and he had big dreams not only for himself but also for all the people around him.

"He had so much optimism, so much creativity. It does feel sad, sometimes shocking, to see where he is now."

Legend's relationship with West - who now prefers to be known as Ye - broke down in 2022 over the rapper's support for US President Donald Trump and he pinpoints the death of the star's mother Donda as the beginning of Kanye's "descent".

The 46-year-old singer said: "I didn't see a hint of what we're seeing now, his obsessions with antisemitism, anti-blackness, and it is sad to see his devolution.

"I don't think we're qualified to psychoanalyse him, but after his mother passed in 2007 there was definitely a difference. His descent started then and seems to have accelerated recently."

Legend is a vocal critic of Trump and branded the White House chief as a "mad dictator" over the treatment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was arrested at his home in Maryland and sent to prison in El Salvador in March.

He said: "It's extremely dangerous in America right now. If the government can kidnap you, take you to a foreign prison, and claim they have no way of getting you back, the entire rule of law is meaningless."

Legend continued: "If you can just be abducted by the government without any evidence or proof, then the whole system is done and we're living in a system based on the whims of a mad dictator.

"That's what we're sitting on the precipice of right now. We're a nation of entrepreneurs. Who is going to want to start a business here, or come to university from another country, if they don't have the protection of the rule of law?"

The star will continue to support the Democratic Party and thinks an "outsider" will be required to return the party to the White House.

He said: "Generally with the Democrats they succeed with someone who isn't part of the Washington establishment, like Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. I think that's what it will take - an outsider - to get us in."