Celebrities | Oct 25, 2020 07:05 AM EDT

Kanye West Reveals Shocking Advice Oprah Winfrey Told Him

By Staff Reporter

Kanye West opened up in an interview with Joe Rogan about his presidency and some of the latest controversies surrounding him.

The 43-year-old sat down for three hours on the latest episode of the "Joe Rogan Experience."

One of the things he talked about was TV mogul Oprah Winfrey's advice about running from being the President of the United States.

Although his official announcement to run for the highest position happened on July 4, 2020, he first revealed he had his sights set on becoming the POTUS when he accepted the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.

At that time, one audience member yelled, "Kanye for president," to which he responded with, "And yes, as you probably could have guessed by this moment, I have decided in 2020 to run for president."

The Yeezy creator explained to Joe that he got a ton of negative feedback, even from high-profile people such as Oprah Winfrey.

He recalled, "I remember running into Oprah two days or one day after that, and she's like, 'You don't want to be president.'"

Elaborating further, Kanye said, "One of the things Oprah said is, 'You got to bone up on your foreign affairs.'"

"I remember this because it's Oprah talking. So I'm going to remember a lot of what the conversation was, but that's the first thing she said was foreign affairs and foreign policies."

The Reason for His Presidential Bid

Joe Rogan asked Kanye West why he's running for a White House position when in fact, he's already successful in the music and entertainment industry.

Speaking of the decision, he revealed that it was something that "God put on my heart back in 2015," a few days before the MTV Awards.

The realization made him laugh, but later, he felt the joy overcome his body and soul.

"I felt that energy. I felt that spirit," Kanye added.

The "Jesus Walks" rapper also claimed, "I believe that my calling is to be the leader of the free world."

Recent Manic Bipolar Episode

The dad-of-four also spoke honestly about his gut-wrenching public episodes.

In one of his campaign rallies, Kanye West divulged that he and his wife, Kim Kardashian, "almost killed" their daughter. At that time, he revealed that they considered aborting their first daughter, North West.

The Grammy award-winning musician shared his experiences during a manic episode that left him crying.

He told Joe, "I cry when I have a manic episode, and I was gut-wrenched at the - I don't even like to say out loud what I said on South Carolina."

Explaining why he was crying, but using careful words as Kanye said, "I was crying about there was a possible chance, looking at a way there was a chance that we didn't make, Kim and I didn't make the family I have today."

He further claimed that his explanation was the most "family-friendly way" to say it and added that the idea of not making the family he has now "tears" him apart.