Kid Cudi has publicly weighed in after encountering backlash over his reunion with Kanye West during the rapper’s two-night residency in Chicago.
Cudi joined West on stage at Soldier Field on Friday (04.09.26), their first joint performance in years after a lengthy and highly public rift.
When a fan confronted him online about the reunion, Cudi made it clear he wasn’t inclined to offer an apology.
He wrote: “I understand your frustration, but I really don’t care if you’re disappointed in me. (sic)”
He told the critic that their bond runs far deeper than outsiders realise.
Cudi added: “That man is my brother. You don’t share a relationship with him like I do. Almost two decades of art and friendship. You’re not family. So I get it. (sic)”
He said West’s behaviour in recent years has been shaped by mental health struggles, adding that he believes his former mentor is in a better place now.
Cudi added: “He’s been dealing with mental health struggles for years and now he’s doing well.”
“Everyone deserves some grace when they’re family. I was the hardest on him of anybody. I held him accountable. He apologized and it was sincere. (sic)”
The pair’s relationship had appeared beyond repair. Cudi, who signed to West’s GOOD Music label in 2008, cut ties after feeling “hurt over and over” by the rapper.
In an interview last year, he said their friendship was “heartbreaking” to lose and insisted there was “no coming back” from comments West made about Virgil Abloh following the designer’s death in 2021. Cudi described those remarks as “evil” and said they changed how he viewed West entirely.
Their feud escalated in 2022 when West publicly announced Cudi would not appear on Donda because of his friendship with Pete Davidson, prompting Cudi to accuse him of lying “for a look on the internet”.
