MOCK TURTLE!!!!!!!!
Here are some photos of Kanye West in Paris today, attending the Louis Vuitton show. He arrived in London yesterday, met up with Kim, had a morose-looking dinner, then he got the hell out of dodge. I don’t know if Kim joined him in Paris, actually, so maybe it’s not a repeat of Kanye’s constant abandonment, like he did throughout her first pregnancy. Anyway, Kanye covers the new issue of Q Magazine and he ended up talking about his mom. I have no doubt that Kanye still misses his mom so much, and even in this interview, it still feels like he blames himself for her death (which was not his fault at all).
Kanye on balancing fatherhood with work: “While (Nori’s) here in Europe I have to have six hours a day with her because otherwise I’ll just work and she’ll get scheduled around meetings. Instead, the meetings get scheduled around her.”
On his mom: “If I had never moved to LA she’d be alive. I don’t want to go far into it because it will bring me to tears.”
The petition signed by Glastonbury ‘purists’ complaining about Kanye’s appearance: “I’m not concerned about race. I don’t think it has to do with race at all. There’s something abnormal about anyone speaking their mind in today’s society. It’s even more shocking or radical for someone to see a darker skin be so confident. Because we’ve been advertised against it. So it’s surprising when someone darker really believes in themselves and speaks up about it.”
It’s worth going back and reading some of the coverage of Donda West’s passing – People Magazine has a really well-done piece here. Donda passed away in November 2007 when she was recovering at home after undergoing several plastic surgery procedures, including liposuction and breast reduction surgery. She passed away in LA County and the county coroner did an autopsy and an investigation into what happened. There were a lot of contributing factors, including Donda’s heart disease and her decision to recover at home instead of a medical facility. My point is that it’s not Kanye’s fault. I understand why he blames himself – it’s human nature to blame oneself after tragedy – but it was seriously not his fault.
And I love that Kanye is getting questions about HIS work-family balance. Usually those questions are just reserved for moms. They should ask dads about how much time they spend with their children.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Ugh, I do feel sorry for him, you can tell he is definitely still grieving and blaming himself for it…Poor thing
I don’t think he’ll ever get over it. I cannot imagine. I dread the day when it’s my mom’s time…
Tell me about it! My mom is everything…
You never get over it. My mom’s been gone for 13yrs and if I think or talk about it to long it brings me to tears (like now).
You would think….being so traumatised by her death by plastic surgery, that he would have picked a wife without an addiction to it. I would think he would be scared by a loved one having constant procedures.
That’s a very interesting observation. Never picked up on that before.
thank you! she is a walking ad for/against plastic surgery whichever way you look at it, it’s not good. eventually mother nature wins
It wasn’t the plastic surgery’s fault either, per se. She had a heart condition, she was older, she refused to recover at the hospital. Plastic surgery is pretty safe if you do it right. People get stuff done all the time. Caitlyn Jenner got everything done. Kris Jenner too. Julie Andrews has had her fair share of heavy work done. Billy Crystal. And let’s not forget Joan Rivers.
When your time is up, it’s up. We all have a date set. That’s why you live life to the fullest. You never know when that day comes.
I’m sorry, I know this topic is so serious and I want to address his comments but GOD the way this man dresses pisses me off.
Wear normal clothes Kanye! You try SO hard to be this disaffected fashion designer who looks like a slob himself! You are NOT Kurt Cobain!
Sigh…sorry for the rant.
Sadly I think Donda West (besides her bad doctor) is more to blame than Kanye. She let the vanity of LA effect her. This was an intellectual woman with a career in education who suddenly decided to get multiple procedures from a doctor who didn’t have a good reputation. In some ways when people say, “Oh Kanye wouldn’t be with the Kardashians if Donda was alive.”
Yes he would. The poor woman fell for the glitz and the fantasy and it killed her, she’d probably be semi-star struck by the Kardashians and find herself on the show.
I think that’s what he is getting at though – his career more or less brought her out to LA, so if she hadn’t settled down there she wouldn’t have fallen victim to the vanity obsessed LA scene where plastic surgery is all too commonplace. That’s at least what he is blaming himself for but he shouldn’t at all! Like you said, it was her choice. He just wishes he had somehow not let her enter that superficial atmosphere. Sad, he isn’t to blame 🙁 That doctor better pay the price for life.
Just kind of playing the devil’s advocate, who’s to say she wouldn’t have had the surgery done anyway. I get why he blames himself and shouldn’t do so. It’s hard when it comes to your parents. Luckily my mom lived a full life and when she died it was time for her to go and was easily more acceptable.
Also just want to say YOUR USER NAME IS AMAZING.
But one of the things she got was a breast reduction right? That doesn’t scream “glitz and glamour” to me, more like wanting to be less top heavy, and spare herself back pain.
The liposuction yeah, isn’t necessary, but also really routine…
I think this piece provides a lot of insight into Kanye West’s persona. He says right there that it’s a shock to people when a person of color is confident or even braggadocious. And why should it be? So instead of shrinking from that, he takes it to the extreme. We are all being played. And good for him.
And I’m sad for him about his feelings of guilt in the death of his mother. Not sure if he’ll ever get over that. A death of a parent is one of the hardest things to overcome and it’s not often given the gravitas it deserves.
I agree! I’m surprised that that quote isn’t getting discussed more, compared to his (admittedly lackluster) fashion sense or his relationship with the Kardashians, which is usually discussed in any other Kanye post.
Kanye gets DRAGGED for having an ego and calling himself grander than life, yet other celebrities that express the same sentiments and aren’t attacked or reviled as much. Tell me, how many times has Justin Timberlake been called out for being a huge egotistical douchebag (outside of here, ofc ;))
Whenever he talks about his mom, I remember the Ye of the olden days, and I start to love him again…
Me too, Kitten. I have a lot of snarky comments about present-day Kanye and his marriage, but the way he talks about his mom and how much he misses her, I remember how much I used to like him.
+2
She really kept him in check. And the story of how Swifty’s mom went to him after the stage crashing and asked him if his mother would be proud of what he did…
I think he’s really been struggling to deal with her passing since the moment she passed.
Getting over the loss of a parent isn’t in any sense easy or done within a certain amount of time.
I do feel for him.
🙁 I hope he continues to heal. he deserves it. Losing a parent, especially in an event like that, I can’t imagine. I send love your way mr. kanye. your mom is smiling at the way you love nori!
I’ve always thought it strange that Kanye hooked up with a family so dedicated to plastic surgery considering his beloved mother died of complications from plastic surgery. If I were Kanye I would go to great lengths to stop the people I love from taking those kinds of risks solely for the sake of vanity.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing.
Absolutely. I thought it strange from the beginning.
And yet he’s with the queen of cosmetic surgeries … I smell a publicity ruse.
Using a parent you’ve lost and have missed horribly as pr is not easily done. It’s more than clear he truly misses her. May not like the guy, but using that to attack is a big stretch.
Hey Mama is still his best song. People respond to Kanye because he’s genuine. You just can’t fake that stuff.
I hope he’s telling the truth about his time with Nori, he actually is the more normal parent with real emotions and so I have more hope for him developing into a decent parent if his mind stays together long enough. I don’t think he’s a chronic liar like Kim, and Nori does seem much more comfortable with him. I still see too many signs of stress when she’s with Kim (look for the clenched fist and the push-away). But he dragged Nori into that awful airport mess with so many flashbulbs that the video had a seizure warning, so he needs to learn to protect her rather than using her as a prop, Kardashian-style.
I really relate to him on feeling guilt over a loved one’s death. My grandpa passed away last August of cancer and i’ve felt a lot, a lot , a lot of guilt over being away and not taking care of him (i was in DC all summer). I don’t think i’ll ever get over it.
It’s hard because it feels like we should’ve made different decisions – ones that might have changed the course a little bit. I hope Kanye finds peace with his mother’s passing soon. I hope his guilt lessens and fades over time.
I’ve always thought Kanye felt guilty about his mother’s death. The truth is she doctor shopped until she found a doctor willing to operate. She shouldn’t have been getting plastic surgery with her health problems.
This makes me so sad 😔 I always knew he blamed himself… He’s alluded to it before but not as outright as this. I don’t think a person ever stops mourning the death of their parent, but I do hope he starts to heal and blames himself a little less each day.
I really like when he says “It’s even more shocking or radical for someone to see a darker skin be so confident.” I think it’s very true. As if you should feel less of a person or keep quiet about things just because your skin is darker.
+1
+1
I felt a lot of guilt after my mom passed away. We lived two hours away from her and my biggest regret was that I didn’t spend as much time with her as I should have. I felt like I should have been looking out for her more than I did. I am not a Kanye fan, but I do feel that the only time he seems even remotely genuine is when he speaks about his mother. You just never get over it. He is obviously still hurting and that’s okay.
I like what he said about the correlation between dark skin and confidence and about people who are intimidated by it. Even if he has been on my last nerve since the whole Tyga and Amber Rose comments, I think that the whole Glastonbury petition doesn’t make sense. Glastonbury has had popstars for some years now, why make a big fuss over Kanye who’s a gifted artist? Ok you can’t stand his attitude and his persona, but you can’t really deny his musical talent.
Not all musicians consider him “talented,” which is not the same as “popular.”
He’s talented.
I don’t think it has as much to do with living in LA a much as having thr disposable income (through her son) to pay for the procedures. I don’t live in LA and I’d sure as heck get a mommy makeover and a little inner thigh lipo if I could afford it.
I guess I must be as cold as a Kardashian because I simply have to wonder where this has been hiding? Come on he marries the queen of plastic surgery and than comes out with pictures of North and all of a sudden feeling guilty over his mother’s death. This has PMK written all over it. I am not buying one word of it.
My eternally cynical self agrees with you, Dawn.
Don’t stop there Kanye. If you had never been born she’d probably still be alive too. Probably wouldn’t have been wasting money on lipo.
Knock it off.
It doesn’t matter what is in a Kanye post….every time I see his name or face all that comes to *my* mind is… “Tyga was smart, he got in early”….and I don’t think his mom passing can excuse that mentality. For some reason he is just peachy with that whole mess and that is disgusting… so that all he is to me at this point. Smh…
One word: Narcissist.
Everything is all about Kanye — even his mother’s death. Disgusting.
he’s definitely got my sympathy on this. it must be hard carrying those sorts of feelings around.
Well I certainly have never experienced expectations in society that darker skinned people will be less confident or speak up less.
If anything it’s the opposite, no shade.
But him acting like he’s a poor oppressed little minority is disingenuous I think, he’s not fighting the power, he’s a middle class entitled braggart.