Kanye West appears to have addressed the backlash he faced over the music video for his track ‘Eazy’, which was shared last week.

The clip featured a claymation version of SNL comedian Pete Davidson – who is currently dating West’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian – being kidnapped and buried alive.

“Everyone lived happily ever after, except Skete you know who – JK he’s fine,” a series of title cards read at the end of the video. The track itself also includes the lyric: “God saved me from that crash / Just so I can beat Pete Davidson’s ass”.

In his latest Instagram post, the rapper appears to have responded to the criticism he faced for the visuals. “Art is therapy just like this view,” he captioned an image of what looks like a church on fire. “Art is protected as freedom of speech.

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“Art inspires and simplifies the world. Art is not a proxy for any ill or ham. Any suggestion otherwise about my art is false and mal intended.”

After West shared the ‘Eazy’ video, The Suicide Squad director James Gunn spoke out on Davidson’s behalf. “For the record, Pete Davidson is one of the nicest, sweetest guys I know,” he tweeted. “A truly generous, tender, and funny spirit, he treats everyone around him with respect.”

Davidson worked with Gunn on The Suicide Squad, where he had a small role as mercenary Richard “Dick” Hertz.

Last week, Kardashian was granted single status by a judge at Los Angeles County Superior Court, meaning her divorce from Kanye West is a step closer. During the hearing, Kardashian once again stated her desire to dissolve the marriage due to “irreconcilable differences”.

West previously told a court that claims he had harassed Kardashian and Davidson on social media were “double hearsay”. “Kim claims she read something online allegedly by Kanye and characterises the posts in her declaration as misinformation,” he said in a statement made via his lawyer.

“The social media posts are not attached to the declaration,” the statement continued, before the allegation was dubbed “double hearsay”.