R&B artist John Legend had his name dragged into the controversy over Melania Trump allegedly plagiarizing part of her Monday night Republican National Convention speech, and he quoted another celebrity to get out of it.
Earlier Tuesday, RNC communications director Sean Spicer defended Melania Trump to CNN by quoting other famous people she could have plagiarized given the content of her speech.
“In a 2,000-word statement, we’re talking about 70 words [and] three passages,” Spicer said. “Melania Trump said, ‘You work hard for what you get in life.’ John Legend said, ‘Work hard to be anything you want in life.’ Kid Rock said, ‘Work hard to be anything you want in life.’
“Melania Trump said, ‘The strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.’ Twilight Sparkle from ‘My Little Pony’ said, ‘This is your dream. Anything you can do in your dreams, you can do now,'” he continued, quoting a children’s character.
I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative https://t.co/I46VtY2CXI
— John Legend (@johnlegend) July 19, 2016
Legend responded to Spicer by quoting Taylor Swift’s Twitter response this weekend to Kim Kardashian releasing a video of the phone conversation her husband Kanye West had with Swift, which ignited a social media firestorm: “I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative.”
Melania allegedly stole a few lines from Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic National Convention speech. While many in the media and beyond have criticized her and her speechwriters, some, like Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and spokeswoman Katrina Pierson have come to the potential future first lady’s defense.
