John Legend Defends Barack and Michelle Obama's Portraits After Backlash

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John Legend is a big fan of Barack & Michelle's new portraits.

Just yesterday Barack Obama and his wife Michelle unveiled their portraits at the Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Barack's piece was painted by New York City-based painter Kehinde Wiley, while Michelle's piece was helmed by Baltimore artist Amy Sherald.

The paintings are a first as Barack was the first Black president and the painters hired to do the art are the first black painters to be commissioned by the museum to paint presidential portraits.

TMZ recently caught up with John Legend to get his opinion on the portraits since he and his wife donated money to commission the art. John addresses those who have created memes and have made fun of the paintings saying he "thought they were beautiful" pieces of work.

"The artists they chose, they chose them for a reason and the artists made paintings that represented their own style," he adds. "I think for people to expect it to look like a photo or look like this or that, it's a wrong expectation. The artists have their own distinct style and they gave us that."



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