This Kanye West situation gets messier by the day. It’s been sad for a while, honestly. I thought it was sad back in 2016 when he had a breakdown and was handcuffed to a hospital bed and Kim Kardashian was thinking about leaving him. I truly thought he was being medicated and on a healthier path throughout 2017, but in his comeback of 2018, we now know that he’s the same old Kanye, only much, much worse. Kanye is a Deplorable now. I don’t know how else to say it: he’s going all-in with ignorance, white supremacy and fascism. He’s all about spouting far-right-wing talking points and conspiracies. He’s been canceled. But still, I guess we have to talk about the epic sh-t that went down during his TMZ Live interview. Here’s the big soundbyte, ‘Ye on slavery:
Kanye with the worst take yet
"You hear about slavery for 400 years. 400 years?! That sounds like a choice." pic.twitter.com/jJwtByDuyH
— Alazar Moges (@zarzarbinkss) May 1, 2018
The context:
“It was my subconscious. It was a feeling I had. I felt freedom in doing something that everyone tells you not to do. I love Trump. You look at Snoop Dogg who said he loved Trump but as soon as he gets in office we don’t love Trump…People try to minimize me to an artist, hip-hop, black community. Yea I represent all of those things But I also represent the world. When you hear about slavery for 400 years. For 400?! That sounds like a choice. We’re mentally in prison.”
True story: if Kanye ever read a book, he would know that African-Americans and Africans were kept as chattel slaves just 150 years ago in America, not 400 years ago. And it was only about 55 years ago when America began to even ATTEMPT to undo the multi-pronged tragic legacies of slavery. ‘Ye makes it sound like the whole slavery thing happened for a few years with the pilgrims and why are people still talking about that. So, yeah, he deserves to be minimized. Every person preaching historical, cultural, legal and racial ignorance deserves to be minimized.
Of course Kanye said a lot of other sh-t too, to TMZ and to Charlamagne Tha God. Some highlights:
Taylor Swift contributed to his breakdown: “It was weird, I was looking at, you know, we were doing ‘Saint Pablo’ and the cultural impact is incredible, but I’m looking for other forms of validation when there’s other frequencies and other currencies… So just because it’s not playing on the radio…of course we had ‘Father Strech’ in the club and on the radio a bit, like it went to number one…but to put that same amount if not more work into a piece of work and then you used to it coming out like Graduation when everything is everywhere, it’s frustrating. And really, ever since the Taylor Swift moment, it just, it never, it never had been the same, the connection with radio. It’s like, whatever powers that be, it was much harder after that.”
Beyonce & Jay-Z didn’t come to his wedding: “Respectfully, I have to say I was hurt that they didn’t come to the wedding. I understand they were going through some things, but if it’s family, you’re not gonna miss a wedding.”
He had liposuction, then got addicted to opiods: “Two days before I was in the hospital I was on opioids. I was addicted to opioids. I had plastic surgery because I was trying to look good for y’all. I got liposuction because I didn’t want y’all to call me fat like y’all called Rob [Kardashian] at the wedding and made him fly home before me and Kim got married… I was taking two pills a day at that time. When I left the hospital how many pills do you think i was given? Seven. I went from taking two pills to taking seven.”
[From Refinery29 & Page Six]
I mean… I’m done. I’m ready, Snake Fam. I’m ready to flood his Twitter feed with snake emojis. Just give me the signal and I’m there. In truth, I’m still not Team Snake, but I’ll never be Team Yeezy again. I’m done with this.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
I’m ready for us to stop giving him any attention. If he’s in the middle of another breakdown, we’re not helping him by giving him this much attention. If he’s not, then he’s just a jackass and we’re not helping us by giving him all this attention.
This is the product of someone who doesn’t read, who doesn’t educate himself and believes is always right. Kanye will never be a free thinker cause he can’t think, he can’t make coeherent sentences and that comes from the simple fact that he doesn’t read. If he at least had an argument, even a really wrong one, but he is uncapable of coming to it because he doesn’t read. Also, Kanye will never be a free thinker cause he is a slave to his own ego and that is his a choice.
The TMZ guy, Van, anihilated Kanye with thoughts and facts and all Kanye could do was “I’ll give you a hug”. That’s the intellect of the self-proclaimed genius: someone kills you with facts and you don’t have ONE to clap-back.
He is so blind by himself he will go down just to stand in his ground of desillusions.
Van’s response was fantastic.
I wonder why Charles didn’t say anything back to Kanye like Van did.
I applaud Van for his clap back at Kanye. No, I give him a full standing ovation.
If you’ve actually watch the whole interview he doesn’t sound so crazy. His delivery is messed up but he’s making some valid points about love, freedom and free thinking. We DO have the ressources to feed the world and keep peace and not destroy the planet with polution but we don’t and that is messed up. He even said he would martyr himself if it meant bringing peace, love and kindness to the world. And the slavery comment was a poorly delivered metaphor. If he was properly medicated for his condition and came with a better way to formulate his thoughts I would 100% agree with some of what he’s saying.
I do agree with you that context is important. But even as a Kanye apologist I’m getting tired of his antics and he needs to stop. I get that he is all about love and peace but he’s incoherent and saying that slavery was a choice, there is no other meaning. If he means that a group chose to enslave another group he should say that but saying slavery was a choice comes across as that slaves chose to be slaves. That is wrong and deeply offensive.
He doesn’t need to be a martyr he just needs to be healthy and use his influence in a better way. I think he thinks he’s trying to bridge both sides, but instead he’s coming off as deeply offensive. We get Kanye speaks Kanye, but no more passes.
Kanye has been retweeting alt-right revisionist history on slavery and the civil rights movement and the KKK for days so no, this isn’t a matter of just his delivery.
@A
There is no “context” in which slavery is a choice is merely a poorly delivered metaphor NONE
Kanye is supposed to be crazy huh bet he isnt crazy enough to say some hateful BS like The Holocaust , Gas chamber or interment camps were choices ? Hmm Wonder why not . He knows that nobody would entertain that and the consequences would be hard and swift and career ending
But we are all here for “metaphors” Sh1tting on black people
He also said MLK, Malcom X and Harriet Tubman were overrated and why isn’t Michael Jordon on the new dollar bill instead of Harriet Tubman.
When I read his quotes, it hurts. How can someone not realize who made an actual difference in our world, and who simply entertained it? Smh
I think he means it like, “Oh it happened SO long ago, you are enslaving yourself to the past by continuing to harp on it!” Bitch a couple generations ago, a whole race of people was enslaved. I do not get how he can be so damn flippant about something so tragic and far-reaching (and relatively recent). Well I mean I can because it’s Kanye, but goddamn that is some powerful ignorance.
@Tiffany
“When I read his quotes, it hurts. How can someone not realize who made an actual difference in our world, and who simply entertained it? Smh”
I think you answered your question with the question you asked. Kanye is a gifted entertainer. He is very much like Trump in that no matter their accomplishments they view themselves as victims from whom much has been taken and much is owed. They bow at the Altar of Hubris.
Even Bob Marley said to “free yourself from mental slavery” etc. I DO realize it’s a concept, but Kanye’s delivery lacks context and or historical backing. It’s understandable why he comes off as calloused, entitled, cruel and self sabotaging.
This would be the same person who complained people wasted money on aid to Africa, when they could give it to him so he could create art. And who spends insane amounts of money fitting out mansions, plural, to his tastes while running private jets and planning weddings that could feed thousands for a year. How does that indicate any willingness to even reduce his luxuries, far less martyr himself?
I mean, his money, his call. But saying he is talking sense on this stuff… it’s really odd. He’s talking standard stoner idiocy, mixed in with some eyewateringly nonsensical race hate. Personally, I think he is severely mentally ill so I don’t feel it’s right to condemn him, as a human being, in the way I would someone who was playing with a full deck. His words, though? I think condemning those is really, really important.
Kanye is not the danger. The danger is dismissing his rants and refusing to believe that he is, shockingly, beginning to speak for some poc.
Yes because many POC are claiming that they chose to be enslaved by white people… try again.
What I’m simply saying is that a lot of young black men and women are in serious danger of taking for granted or outright forgetting the blood sweat and tears that have gone into the freedoms they now enjoy. The result is they are becoming oblivious to the struggle and feel like it’s just more complaining or blaming white people for everything or other black people just simply refusing to improve enough to achieve the American dream. I am seeing this trend on social media and it is very disturbing. So no, we cannot afford to just say Kanye is crazy and ignore the bigger problem.
Kanye is speaking for Kanye, not for any rational people of colour. No POC will rationalize or forget the horrors of slavery or become oblivious to the struggle because the struggle continues to this very day.
I hear you Organica. The last line (or so) of Killmonger in Black Panther is that he would have been one of the Africans who would have jumped off of a slave ship into the Atlantic rather than to have suffered the horrors of enslavement.
I was HORRIFIED by this lauded or ignored statement because it denigrated black survival & resilience in America. It insults what ancestors had to overcome just so that black folks could become a Kanye or Coogler.
There has been a strain of this “I would never have been a slave; I would have fought back or died” in black America for decades. It is the voice of shame from a humiliated people. In 2018 black men can’t wait for friends in public spaces. . . .
Other people, on the other hand, have deep pride in black resilience & excellence. What would America (or the West itself) be without generations of free labor? What culture would America have without the blues, black dance or art generally or contributions to medicine etc.?
Kanye is vile. He is insulting his mother’s legacy (anger at her for her dying perhaps?)
He is vying for attention and uneducated. He really needs to read a book or go travel to museumsand seminars on American History.
My family in my father’s side is from the South and I am descendant of slavery , we grew up very aware of the history, the history of America . No Kanye it was NOT a choice to be enslaved ,it was not a choice of enslaved women folk to be tortured, raped, or our enslaved forefathers choice to be hanged, beaten, brutized. No it was NOT by choice .
My parents were very much involved in the 1960’s civil rights movements.
Does Kanye even know when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed? Does he understand that slavery was not that long ago?
He’s an idiot. He craves negative attention.
Does he not understand what POC , are going through right now? Does he not see African American men and women being imprisioned, arrested, shot, not allowed to go in Starbucks without being arrested? WTF is his problem, is he clueless to even the current state of issues in the US.
I think he must want attention or he is utterly stupid. It is sad, he does not know history.
Larne, I don’t think he sees those things. The only think he probably googles is himself.
My great-grandfather was born enslaved; I grew up at the knee of his oldest child. Slavery is not far away for my family, and aside from that, slavery still occurs all around the world, with the race slave trade re-emerging in parts of Africa today.
I hope Kanye’s ignorant outburst leads to constructive discourse and foments positive change. We all have to continue talking to each other and work to solve the problem of racism that continues to plague this land, that continues to holds us back from realizing Democracy’s full promise.
Me: “When you hear all the crap Kanye spews, that sounds like idiocy.”
This is his choice.
This is not the fault of his dead mother.
This is not the fault of his conniving mother-in-law.
This is not the fault of his self-centered wife, although she is supporting this fully.
This is him.
This is who he is.
This is who he has always been.
Please don’t blame his dead mother, his mother-in-law or even his wife.
And it certainly is not the fault of Jay-Z, Beyonce or Taylor Swift.
Totally co-sign.
AMEN. One cannot continuously transfer the actions of one human being to another.
Co-sign. Block twitter came through with amazing takes on this plus the hashtag “if slavery was a choice”. Ended up laughing all night
People had some amazing takes on how Kanye values being “successful” by white standards which almost always includes taking up for white supremacy.
Yes, he has been re-tweeting and pushing alt-right views of history the last two days and the #ifslaverywasachoice response has been hilarious.
Nicole: that’s a great point regarding success as defined by standards of whiteness. AKA the Killmonger Fallacy.
This is all kanye. Where has Kim come in with support? Shes not supporting this. I know it’s fun to hate and blame her, but not even her passive actions are supporting his views on this. Please prove me wrong. Show me where shes supp is ring his statements on slavery. I’ll wait.
She supported his statements about Trump. She actually put out a statement in support. Why do you think this would be different?
She’s tweeting all kinds of support that he’s a free thinker, that’s his right, etc.
I searched out that stuff. I’m no fan of the wording. And I’m seeing the other side. Supporting free thinking, while not supporting the actual statement and the offense of it.
That’s a huge part of the issue here. His mind behind this is philosophical imo. And he’s completely ignoring all the facts and ongoing issues because they do not impact him. He’s in a bubble. Speaking broadly on a matter that cannot be approached that way. Narrow mind. And that’s 100% on kanye.
A parallel might be how the ACLU will defend racist. They do not agree with the acts, but support freedoms sp fully it shouldn’t only be applied to those we agree if. That’s my take.
And I’m clearly no fan of Kim. I don’t watch the show. No products. I do think theres wo Mich built up rage towards her its guilt by association. Even her kids are not safe. That’s a motivation here. To defend slightly.
Everyone jumped down my throat on the last Kanye thread when I said that this all seems like an attempt at pandering to a specific audience in order to cross over (be accepted by a broader white audience). Yet, here he is specifically saying that after the Taylor Swift incident, he felt he couldn’t get his music played and he lost a bit of his broader listening and buying audience.
So, agreed, this is exactly the choice Kanye is making to – in his mind – gain more popularity and fame. He’s setting fire to his black support to try to cross over and get white support.
I thought Van at TMZ really explained it to Kanye. Kanye is so uneducated and spouting nonsense, his mother the former professor is rolling over in her grave. I just can’t with him anymore.
“Thanks, Obama!”
in all seriousness, that was one thing a few people had mentioned…that he’s cozying up to 45 partially because he’s still bitter that O called him a “jackass”…and turns out those few people were right. he’s still waiting for his “apology” from O…and he went on to express how annoyed he is (read: JEALOUS) that JayZ is now O’s favorite.
he and 45 sure can hold a grudge.
I hope he never gets one from Obama. He was a jackass for what he did.
Exactly what I said weeks ago. This is ego and mental illness and fuckery combined. He can’t let it go and on top of that, it was Obama the first Black President from his hometown Chicago.
It’s also not mental illness.
Unless he’s been having psychotic episodes where he doesn’t know who and where he is consistently over several years. All evidence points to the fact that he is very unlikely to be psychotic right now. He believes these things he’s saying. He’s uneducated and doing great harm with ill-founded opinions not based on evidence.
May 1, 2018. The day Kanye officially died.
Yep. There is no metal health issue going on here. This is him & people need to stop making excuses for him.
+1
Sigh. Kanye’s clear mental illness is not a choice. But he has to shut his mouth – or, rather, the people around him have to shut his mouth, get him real help.
Even if you are convinced that he’s mentally ill (I’m not), that has literally nothing to do with his ignorance. Mentally ill people can be highly intelligent, composed, kind, and thoughtful. Kanye does not appear to be any of those things.
Exactly! I fully agree Kitten. Enough blaming his stupidity and ignorance on mental health. If we accept anything neo nazis and white supremacists say at face value, we can do the same here despite any additional mental health problems, which frankly stigmatizes people struggling with mental health with mlst of them having no time of BS that Kanye is unleashig here.
He has been retweeting alt-right views of history that totally ignore the civil rights movement and political changes of the 1950s and 1960s. According to Kanye over the past few days, the DNC is still the party of the KKK,, which switched allegiance to the GOP after the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Acts.
Kitten
True, but the opposite in te is also true.
Kanye can have mental illness and be easily manipulated. He can present as a strong personality and ego, but be incredibly insecure. And how a person has been in the past doesn’t mean a mental illness hasn’t presented later in life. In fact, many illnesses do form when a person is well into adulthood.
I do not support these statements. I think he’s being thick and well in a bubble. I also believe there’s far too many statements dealing in absolutes here just to condemn.
Mental illness also doesn’t erase the burden of the responsibility of your actions, particularly if you don’t learn to recognize the signs and treat them. Do I think he’s sick? Yes. But I also think he’s an adult with plenty of resources to get the help he needs, too, and he’s choosing not to. He’s a man with a platform with a lot of ability to do harm in the meanwhile.
@SM-exactly! I don’t think people understand how stigmatizing it is when every time someone says something that we don’t like we declare them mentally ill. Could Kanye be mentally ill? Sure. But my point is none of us are doctors treating him so none of us should pretend that we know for certain. He appeared perfectly lucid and completely understanding of his words and actions in that video. Again, that’s not proof that he’s not mentally ill, but it sure as hell isnt proof that he is.
But please, let’s start judging Kanye for his words; let’s judge him for what we KNOW to be true, instead of discussing him within the context of what we don’t know.
Also worth pointing out what nobody seems to want to talk about: he’s an addict by his own admission.
@Kitten, great posts and I totally agree. Also, noticed that he said he was addicted opioids BEFORE the surgery. Some articles I have read made it seem like he became addicted AFTER surgery.
TMZ was very clear that the addiction was post-op. PMK’s influence?
I also was hesitant to call him mentally ill, but another site had this excerpted from the interview:
“I’m not drugged out. These pills they want me to take three a day, I take one a week maybe. Two a week. You all have me scared of myself, of my vision, so I took some pills, so I wouldn’t go to hospital and prove everyone right. We are drugged out. We are following other people’s opinions. We are controlled by the media and today it all changes.”
Agreed. I never bought into Kanye having bipolar disorder or some other mental illness. He’s just a jackass as Obama already noted.
The opioid issue is major. I’m glad this is being discussed. It’s often not thought of or easily justified. An acceptable addiction.
I work with children with a wide range of diagnoses day in and day out. Some of them are going to be amazing people to have out in the world. But I talk about accountability all the time with them.
I also suffer from anxiety and depression both in varying degrees depending on the week. I still manage to hold down two jobs and I’m finishing a degree. If I say something hurtful that is due to a trigger from my anxiety or depressive episode I always apologize. And I try to work through it in therapy to avoid that situation again.
Tldr mental illness is not a crutch to use against criticism. It also doesn’t mean you’re not a horrible person. You can be both. Unless Kanye is suffering from something like delusional or magical thinking no mental illness is making him talk like this.
Let’s just stop with this line of thinking.
“Unless Kanye is suffering from something like delusional or magical thinking no mental illness is making him talk like this.”
Serious mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and schizo-affective disorder runs in my family. These illnesses are different than depression and anxiety, and DO cause delusional thinking, including beliefs that can seem to erase history, or are paranoid regarding the motivations and power of certain people (e.g. Taylor Swift). Intelligent people with mental illnesses can say and believe the darndest things when they’re not properly treating their symptoms. I believe Kanye’s behavior is consistent with a serious mental health diagnosis, and the fact that he was admitted to a hospital, and then prescribed three pills a day to take is also consistent with a serious diagnosis. Sometimes, my family member will do incredible things, like publish books of poetry, and other times, it’ll be an hourlong rant about how a kitty litter coupon wasn’t properly honored because the sales clerk is the antichrist. Serious mental illness is not pretty, and it’s not logical, and it’s not something a rich person can just dodge. Kanye has a lot of enablers (Kim, essentially denying that he has any mental illness), and he has a lot of resources.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t push back against the terrible things he is saying – we should always call out any racist/sexist/problematic behavior. But don’t deny that he has a mental illness just because you don’t like what he’s saying, and want him to be more “responsible” for what he’s doing.
I’m a long-time Kanye fan, but I won’t be buying his next albums, and I can’t really call myself a fan for now. Even if I understand his behavior, it’s okay to not accept it. But all y’all, please don’t act like this can’t be coming from a place of illness, because you have some idea of what mental illness SHOULD look like, i.e. that it shouldn’t make you uncomfortable, or that it should be very obvious and limited to Beautiful Mind-type creation or hallucinations.
That’s not what I said at all. I said that people with mental illness should still be held accountable. With the caveat of delusions or magical thinking because that is a different beast. Thats the entire point.
Thing is we don’t KNOW if he has a mental illness and its foolish to pretend that we do know and dangerous. I’m a professional in the field and I would never claim to know someone is mentally ill if i have no clinical contact with them. Please also be aware that severe drug problems can also masquerade as symptoms so you dont KNOW anything he hasn’t disclosed. So please don’t insult my intelligence…I deal with people every day with a range of diagnoses.
If you’re a professional in the mental health field, why are you discussing your personal experience with anxiety and depression, and emphasizing that YOU always take responsibility? You were the first to bring personal experiences in to try to analyze what is going on with Kanye.
We know that Kanye has been hospitalized under a 5150 hold. We know that he is being prescribed a thrice-daily medication to try to help him. We know that he has been prescribed mood stabilizers in the past. There is ample evidence that he is suffering from a serious mental illness.
You mention you work with children. As you must know, generally, mental illnesses like schizophrenia, schizo-affective disorder, and bipolar I and II generally present in peoples’ twenties. I don’t know what your degree is in, but I hope that it will allow you have exposure to adults suffering from some of these illnesses, so that you are more comfortable recognizing and dealing with some of the less-than-inspiring symptoms of these illnesses.
Of course I don’t know if Kanye has a serious mental illness. But most celebrities, or people you meet on the street aren’t going to announce their diagnoses to you. Since most of us AREN’T clinicians, it makes sense for us to take a past history of mental illness, combined with some of the common symptoms into light when we evaluate others’ actions. This allows me to simply put my headphones on if I’m on a bus where someone is ranting and raving, versus being upset that someone isn’t following the rules of bus decorum. I don’t know what that person’s diagnosis is, but I know enough to realize something is going on.
I’m not asking people to excuse Kanye’s words, and I think outlets like Celebitchy are right to comment on, and call out the content of his words. But his words should not weigh into the larger MAGA debate, or be regarded as having any sort of legitimate political content. While I understand it can be hard to have compassion for him, we should at least probably just be throwing our headphones on, and ignoring him.
Also, if you’re really a mental health professional, do better.
Kiljoy 100%. THIS!
@Killjoy
“Intelligent people with mental illnesses can say and believe the darndest things when they’re not properly treating their symptoms.”
This is so true. It took 16 very long years from my first manic episode to finally get diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder. During those 16 years I said a lot of horrible and hurtful things to people. Especially if the manic episode had psychotic features. I said things that were not only awful but usually the complete opposite of how I really think and feel when I am on proper medication. And every time it happened, I felt 100% sure I was totally justified to say these things. Until I came crashing down from mania and realized what I’ve done.
It happened so many times I lost practically all my friends. I left all social media for good years ago because I don’t want to take the risk that I will say something that meets the legal definition of libel. It wouldn’t be the first time. (For the same reason I never have a passport. During one of the worst episodes I had, I was planning on buying a gun and flying to the USA with it. Thankfully that never happened, otherwise I’d probably be in prison.)
Even though I know I wasn’t in control of myself – I believe the term they use is non compos mentis – I still feel terribly ashamed every day of my life. The guilt I carry with me is an awful burden.
I guess what I’m trying to say is you’re absolutely right. Serious mental illness is not pretty. I really appreciate you putting all that into words so eloquently.
@Killjoy,
Thank you. Mental illness awareness, the ugliness and the symptoms, seems to be poorly lacking here today and I am surprised. I think the overall focus of Kanye’s rants is the problem. If he were ranting about the antiChrist even naming specific people like Taylor Swift, Diana Ross, Trump, Pelosi, whoever, I think people would be less offended and blinded by the abhorrence of the subject matter.
I am not and have never been a Kanye fan. I like some of his music. I think his fashion is laughable. I’ve never paid too much attention too anything he says. I detest his wife and her entire family. But I have seen mental illnesses of the serious variety. I have been accused of trying to poison this person. I have witnessed behavior that said person won’t ever remember when stabilized. I have seen a person talk into a French fry container like it is a telephone and on and on.
Anyway, to me, this isn’t about Kanye’s slavery comments, this is about Kanye’s mental breakdown.
I wholly recognize Kanye is probably a raging a-hole even when stabilized and I will never be a fan but this, this is just Britney level sad.
The patronizing nature of your comment is frankly amazing. I never said it was pretty (not sure where I said that ever). I said that we try to hold our students accountable because frankly that’s part of the work. And if you knew anything about diagnostics in any field you would know that it takes more evidence than pieces of gossip. It takes assessments, full history work ups, several interview, etc and even then we still may not get it right. I never said he doesnt have an illness but as a clinician it is bad practice to put that on someone I DO NOT SEE.
And frankly I’ve seen a lot of ugliness in mental health. So please don’t pretend you know anything about my clinical skills because i don’t want to diagnose someone on a GOSSIP BOARD.
He may be mentally ill, he may not be. But I can definitely diagnose him as an asshole.
@ Nicole- ” So please don’t pretend you know anything about my clinical skills because i don’t want to diagnose someone on a GOSSIP BOARD. ”
No one is asking you to diagnose anyone. Some of us are taking his medical info that’s been made public at face value.
No one is put on a 5051 hold for fun. I also don’t think a Dr.would prescribe him 3 different medications, to be taken daily, for fun. I can relate to him, when he spoke about how he thought the nurses and Dr. were going/trying to kill him during his hold. I’ve been there… Now I still think he needs to sit down, shut up and take his meds. By force or coaching.
He also needs to DO and BE better, which includes surrounding his self with better people.
This is the equivalent of Trump’s line about how he would have run into the school even without a gun. Absurd minimizing bravado from known weenies.
In the same appearance, Kanye mentioned getting lipo so TMZ wouldn’t make fun of him. But yeah, he would have chosen not-slavery when confronted with disproportionate institutionalized dehumanizing violence.
I can see why he relates to Trump on a non-political level, though: same grandiosity, übermensch sense of self, and then relentless public whining and self-pity when things take a downward turn.
Remember that narcissists are perpetual victims. Always and forever. Bad things happen to them not because they themselves have caused it but because others are out to get them. People don’t understand them not because they themselves are cankerous turds but because other people are mean. They like to laugh at others for being vulnerable but they are the most vulnerable of all. They have no fortitude, no inner strength. They gain power from their anger and other people’s pain.
Kanye is only slightly more open about his constant need for approval and validation than most. His best orange buddy would never admit to things like, say, plastic surgery to try and look good for the public, or say that he wanted validation from certain sources. It makes Kanye more pathetic in a way because he basically says exactly what is on his mind, and what’s on his mind is his insatiable thirst for approval, adoration, attention, and validation.
I’m starting to wonder if Kanye is trying to perform Poe’s Law. He needs a break from the public interaction, or promotion, whatever this is.
Van Lathan’s response to this utter nonsense is perfect and should really be covered here too.
I was surprised that it wasn’t mentioned. I never would have thought someone at tmz would be so well spoken
It was a calm, straightforward, factual take-down, well-delivered and well-deserved.
Yes!!!!!!! It was concise, respectful, FACTUAL, and I have no idea how he kept his cool throughout it all. MAD props to him.
Van’s response was sensational. Charles Latibeaudiere, on the other hand, continued to prove why he’s the president of the Uncle Tom Club.
I was going to mention Van Lathan too. His response was wonderful, calm, and relatable. Kanye has probably never had anyone call him on his shit, to his face, in years.
So true.
I saw that and he was very good with his rebuttal.
Amen. I didn’t know who that guy was at all and I was hugely impressed not just by his words, but the calm way in which he took Kanye to task. I’m pretty sure I would not be that composed or articulate as I told off a celebrity with the cameras rolling.
I used to watch TMZ pretty regularly. Always liked Van. I’m glad he did this – Kanye needed to be taken to task, and it seems like he managed to approach it better than most people ever could have.
I think he was referring to the duration of the transatlantic slave trade, which occurred between the 15th to the 19th century (roughly 400 years). Which makes his assumption even more ridiculous that it was in any way, shape, or a form a “choice.” It was an industry, built around a whole bunch of scientific BS that rendered whites somehow intellectually superior and some other nonsense about “manifest destiny.”
His comment is truly baffling.
Spot on…it was big, big money, not only in North America, but all over Central and South America, the Caribbean, and in the UK too.
His comments about this make me think of how women in domestic abuse situations are always asked, “Why didn’t you leave?”. He is basically saying the same thing about people who were enslaved, “Why didn’t you just get out?”
There were actually entire tribes (or large groups) of people in South America who decided en-masse to commit suicide rather than be taken into slavery by the Spanish…that is how little choice they had. Go away Kanye.
And he fails to see that even for those who did get out, slavery became such a huge source of income, especially for the USA, that many emancipated slaves were captured and sold back into slavery. Emancipating oneself wasn’t so easy. Plenty of former slaves would escape up North to areas where slavery was virtually illegal and you would still have people ship them back South to be sold to slavery so that they can make money.
Yeah I think this is a misinterpretation of his comments. He is commenting on slavery of African Americans lasting for 400 years, not saying it was 400 years ago. Which means his grasp of history is slightly better than you’re giving him credit for but actually makes his comments worse because he seems to be saying that the slaves at the latter end of that trade could have changed their circumstances but CHOSE not to.
All I know is that I was super confused about what he was even talking about. Slavery, worldwide, has been a thing for literally millennia. Even though it’s now illegal in most places, there are still enslaved people.
The way he spoke it sounded like he was talking about a particular period of slavery lasting for 400 years, not being 400 years ago. I’m afraid I’m not up on my history enough to know if he’s accurate or not that the enslavement of African Americans in the so called new world lasted that long, but I believe that’s what he was trying to say. Which is still awful, because a choice?? Seriously?? Like one day everyone was like “hey guys, I just realized this slavery thing sucks, let’s bail”.
ARI: Yes! Clearly he said the US had slaves for 400 years. Not that slavery ended 400 years ago. I’ve been scrolling through the comments, baffled by how most everyone else read his statement so incorrectly.
SHUT UP KANYE!!!, Another thing, you are not a smart as you believe you are, stop listening 🙉 to the voices in your head.
It really does look like this is more than him trying to get a little extra attention to get people interested in his new album. 400 years? Him and Trump must’ve gone to the same history class.
…or more likely, they must have DITCHED the same history class.
Yep, the class of revisionist history where nothing bad happened ever and America is perfect and always wins.
See what happens when you’re “a proud non-reader of books”?!?!?
The liposuction part is amusing. Your mom died of plastic surgery complications and here you are but you wife swears she’s never had anything done. Mmmmkay
Also, I don’t get the need to blame every other person for Kanye- his mom, his wife, Bey and Jay, mental illness… Kanye is not mentally ill. He was hospitalised for opioid addiction not for no mental illness. This is Who Kanye is and when people show you who they are, believe them.
Also, I’m not even going to go into his equally disturbing thoughts on Harriet Tubman being on the $20 notes. This guy hates black women so much it’s comical
Also, this is why the Carters didn’t come to your wedding…this is why there’ll be no playdates with Blue and North. Get over it.
If anybody deserves to be cancelled, it’s Kanye. For shame
Didn’t Donda die from liposuction?!?! Honestly that was the most shocking part of this interview to me. I agree with you other points, too. Dude has issues.
It’s so shitty that a doctor prescribed opioids for liposuction
Pretty sure she died of heart failure caused by post-operative complications. Supposedly she also flew home to recover rather than stay where she had surgery. I think it was a multitude of factors, likely both her own fault and the care the received.
I read that his mom had to see a bunch of different docs before she found one to do it. Didn’t she already have heart problems before too?
Oh ok thanks for the info, guys. Still unbelievable to me that he would have inclination to have lips after what happened to his mom, even if it wasn’t a direct result of the surgery and due to heart issues. Wow.
(From what I’ve read) Getting a blood clot after liposuction isn’t uncommon. The official cause of death is the clot moving to lungs or brain, but the reason for the clot many times is the trauma that is created by the liposuction.
Yes, I was amazed he’d have that procedure after his mom’s death.
I read it wasn’t due to surgery, the complications. She already had some type of heart problem. From the shot Kanye posted from the doctor himself she had been responsive and fine. It just caught her after a procedure.
I read it wasn’t due to surgery, the complications. She already had some type of heart problem. From the shot Kanye posted from the doctor himself she had been responsive and fine. It just caught her after a procedure.
I don’t believe for a second he was hospitalized for opioids. He is making that up because he is off his mental health meds and is in denial that he is mentally ill.
Basically his vanity and need to appear a certain way trumps any other concerns. It’s quite telling, really. If a relative of mine had died following surgery, ANY surgery, I’d be super leery and paranoid of having a similar procedure, regardless of what it was. The only thing that I find surprising is his apparent willingness to share all of this with us. Usually people as egomaniacal as him want to present the glossy exterior, not explain the usually ridiculous lengths they go to maintain it.
HE says he was hospitalized for opioid addiction. He’s been open in the past about doctors treating him for mental illness, and admits now that he isn’t taking the “three pills a day” he has been prescribed. People with mental illnesses frequently deny being mentally ill when they relapse, and are having episodes.
Kanye does not value education, in spite of his mother’s accomplishments. Remember, he didn’t need to go to college. He was too smart. His lack of education and unwillingness to read anything shows his contempt for knowledge. He is an idiot.
Yes, and who does that unwillingness to read anything sound like, EXACTLY?
Donald Fucking Trump.
Yes, it does.
Yes. The Deplorables are inherently anti-intellectual. They hate education. They think they know everything. They’re wrong.
I would go further and say that not only do they believe they know everything, but everything they know is “from the gut.” It’s all based in emotion (which is ironic from the “f*ck your feelings”group), and because they are emotionally-based, they typically operate independently of facts and require no compromise.
He probably doesn’t think he has to read because his mother is a professor. Sort of like he thinks he’s already smart because of her and there’s no need to read any further.
I’ve defended him on here for years, but yeah, no. Can’t do it anymore. He says these things just for shock value, some say…but I call bullshit on that. Kids are listening to him, looking up to him – hell, his OWN Kids will in just a few years read these quotes. A black man spreading such malignant bullshit to impressionable kids. Worst of all, he is contributing to the malignancy that is the Trump presidency, and he is giving it credibility and the power to influence a new generation.
Bullshit, Kanye, I call bullshit on you.
+1
F*ck off, Kanye.
Kim- please…come get your man.
Every single time Kanye has showed himself there’s always been an excuse for his behavior. It was always someone else’s fault. The blame was put on his wife, on her family, on Taylor Swift. It was always deflected away from him and onto other women in his life. At some point in time everyone needs to accept the fact that this is who he is. Kanye has always been a sexist and a misogynist. He was those things BEFORE his mom died. BEFORE Taylor Swift and him had the VMA incident. BEFORE he met Kim. The reality is that so many folks gave him a pass because well it’s easier to put the blame on Kim and/or Taylor than have him actually face the consequences. Kanye West is who he is because of the actions he’s chosen to take. That’s the bottom line. And it’s about time people actually started to call him out for it.
Isnt TMZ basically a mouthpiece for all things Kardashian/Jenner? The comments about slavery( really Kanye??) and also bringing up Taylor Swift ,Beyonce and JayZ, make me think this is more of a promotion for his new album. Look at all this attention he is getting( any attention is good when it comes to this family)
I used to think Kanye has personal problems , but now I just think he is and has always been just a awful person. I pity his children
If this is publicity for his album, I am CERTAIN Kris JEnner is not managing him. Because it is a TERRIBLE embarrassing and stupid strategy. She did not make her billion by being stupid.
Ugh, just ugh, go the hell away and never come back. No passes ever on this nonsense.
I don’t ever want to hear about a Kanye comeback because it’s never going to be forgotten, at least by me.
I don’t really get what he meant.
He meant that slaves CHOSE to be slaves. He meant that if they were slaves for so long and there were so many of them, they must have WANTED to be slaves rather than to fight it, so they were weak or stupid or cowardly. Or all three.
That’s what he meant.
OK. Thanks for the clarification. At best it sounds like he’s just trolling for attention now. At worst, selling out people of color just to get in with Trump.
why is everyone taking his comment SO literally… it doesn’t sound to me like he’s saying that actual slaves chose to be slaves. instead I thought he was saying that continuing to be enslaved or acting victimized (just because one’s ancestors were) is a choice. of course that too is a layered & problematic convo. im no Yeezy apologist, believe me. but im still kinda shocked at how literally everyone’s taking his comments. it really does sound like people are putting words in his mouth that he didn’t actually say. but I agree he’s a nitemare, and I never thought he was a genius like all y’all used to! : Lol
I never cared for Kanye, but his slavery comment really, really hurt.
Why would you Kanye? To your own people?
My parents fought against the systematic abuses towards black people, they lost friends who gave their lives because they fought for equal rights for black people, but it’s a mentality right?
And he preaches it’s all about love.
Do you know what love is Kanye?
Love is my parents fighting for the rights of black people & still fighting against the injustices that see us unfairly jailed & not having an ounce of hatred (though they would be justified) towards white people, that’s love.
Love is them embracing my (white) husband as their own despite losing their closest friends in brutal ways at the hands of a white man.
That is love.
Love is not an erasure of the past, but an acceptance.
With my family and I, & especially with the black men who are targeted by police on a daily basis, that acceptance of the past has to come with the fight to stop the continued abuse against us.
We don’t have the luxury of simply accepting the past and saying, “Kumbaya”.
Not with black lives undervalued as they are.
I’m sick.
Your parents are f*cking phenomenal ❤
Thank you!
I will pass this on to them:)
Your parents sound awesome and inspiring
I can’t imagine how angry I would be if a high profile member of my marginalized community was actively trying to white-wash the subjugation and cultural genocide of my people.
You put it into much better words!
It’s infuriating.
Yes to all of this
So true. That Kanye would cheerfully embrace the man who embodies the most evil manifestations of American racism is unbelievable. That he is doing it when people continue to be murdered on a daily basis by police brutality, hatred and systemic oppression is absolutely gut wrenching.
It is gut wrenching.
It’s painful.
What does your family think of the Kardashian / Jennifer women?
I will have to ask them.
Very powerful post!
People need to stop making excuses for this behavior. Stop blaming it on mental illness, or his mother dying, or anything else. This is who Kanye West is. When someone shows you who they are believe them. An ignorant, narcissistic, egotiscal fool.
If someone had made a statement that the holocaust happened because “it was a choice” all hell would break loose. This fool has dishonored the ancestors and insulted us all.
The media are using him just like they use Trump….for profits and ratings and he’s willingly going along with it. Koonye needs to STFU.
Also, the willful ignorance of those who refuse to acknowledge that racism was/is CODIFIED INTO STATE LAWS. 400 years of slavery combined with a 100 years of institutionalized racism. The 1960’s are not that long ago and the 1965 Civil Rights Act wasn’t a magic document that made everything alright. Institutional racism is not a myth…it is real and affects us all to this day. Just sick and tired of folks trying to gaslight us into thinking it’s all in our minds and we need to just get over it.
Amen! Americans need to know their history! I highly recommend Kanye take a trip to the new Museum of African American History and then the new Lynching Museum.
When you get Lipo because you were afraid to be called fat… How are you a free thinker, Kanye? When no one is hyped up about your music so you have to create a scene for people to buy into it… How is that artistic, Kanye? Why is this guy being hailed a genius? I don’t get it.
I’m getting Lipo ads from Google in the middle of this thread.
Word! One, let’s stop calling him a genius. He’s as much of a genius as Trump is. A modicum of success does not a genius make. Two, if you’re that scared to be called fat that you would put your life in danger, then you’re not free at all. You can’t be a “free thinker” when you’re called on your crap in one area.
yes to all of this.
So, Swift – a woman is responsible for his crap not being put on air. Black people are the one’s to blame for oppresion of black people, we are responsible for his surgery and consequent addiction and how dare anyone not to think of Kanye the Great as family? I can see why he loves Trump. And isn’t it an end of the world then he makes his wife sound like the sane and reasonable citizen? I hope the times comes and she takes the step of divorcing him, in the state he is in, he has no business raising childeren, shapping their worldview.
Yes, her fault he took drugs and was mentally unstable. All her fault. Everything wrong or difficult in his life is her fault. He bears no responsibility for any of it. Why, she even forced him to drink all that liquor before and while attending those VMAs all those years ago.
He also said that the fashion industry didn’t support him because he was 45 minutes late to his own show. The show where some models passed out from the heat while waiting for Kanye to show up. How dare the industry not bow before him and acknowledge his so called genius.
Kim can get all shades of naked on Insta and drop all the receipts she has, I m afraid it won t be enough this time.
She’s been trying – she’s posted at least three nudes that got no traction. Today, she posted a picture of Chicago. Now E has an article titled “Are Kim and Kanye near the end?” or something like that. Kim is gonna Kim.
Yep! Famewh*re at her best!!!!!!!
Thats one of those things where I cant even be offended because you rarely hear something like that so directly. Im way more stunned than offended.
I first thought Kanye wanted to provoke with his Trump BS for attention and sales and he might still be doing it but wow is this wrong on every level. I cant see how he doesnt get that this wont help him at all. No one wins in this. Maybe Taylor Swift a little bit. (Not that she wasnt and still is wrong but people will look at Kanye in a very different light from now on)
There needs to be an additional column on Van Lathan’s (who is doing the lord’s work, tbh) response because it was a mature, grounded and devastatingly correct in (almost) every way.
Kenny’s willingness to ignore the real life consequences of his words and actions because the attention he believes is OWED to him just for existing is more important is unforgivable.
Typical narcissistic behavior. Refuses to take any responsibility for his behavior. Don’t feed me this “free thinker” BS either because all that is is house negro mentality. He thinks by saying he’s a free thinker absolves him of accountability. He’s cancelled. As a POC he makes me sick. This can’t all be blamed on mental illness but it certainly has exacerbated his a$$holery. People have enabled his behavior for far too long and it needs to stop.
Kanye has be cancelled for years now.
Why people still give him chance after chance is beyond me.
I love the TMZ guys’ reaction: one of them freezes and the other’s jaw is on the floor. The only reaction possible to this mess.
And this is what self-hate looks like. Kanye is going beyond being an Uncle Tom at this point.
This is what ignorance looks like. He is a privileged, successful man and he actively chooses to remain ignorant and uneducated. I shudder and what he is passing on to his children.
A genetic predisposition to bipolar disorder, no doubt. 🙁
This ^^^
If people actually paid attention to lyrics, they would actually realize it actually makes a lot of sense that rappers like Trump. Heck, Post Malone just broke all records this week making a who album about how his success allows hik to buy Lamborghini’s, diamonds (he does not got a gold toilette, but he got diamond braces…) and partying with bnch of “biches”.
People call out Trump, yet run to buy an ugly whiite dude’s songs that preach on the same.
Yes, he could not have been 5150ed because of the fragile state of his mental health. He was hospitalized because he was merely a pillbilly, not because he was crazy. Okee-doke, Ye, if you say so.
There was once a simpler time when this buffoon would amuse me with his navel gazing chicanery. It seems so long ago that I was able to find some joy by following pop culture with breaking news such as Kim Kardashian issueing a denial that her right pinky toe sports a yellow toenail.
it seems so inconsequential and silly now that planet Earth and the human race are under seige as we stay glued to season 2 of Twitler’s Shitstorm.
Kenye could seduce Swifty and set both of them afire and build the bonfire from scratch without a match and my amusement meter would barely register a wiggle. Those . were . the . days my friends. We thought they’d never end …
Uncle Ruckus strikes again.
He is so out of it. In his interview with Charlemagne he said he was “the greatest artist of all time.” Well if that’s true why is Kendrick Lamar going home with a Pulitzer Prize and you going home with a TMZ office visitor pass?
Also, what century does Kanye live in that he still worried about radio play? Who listens to the radio any more? I don’t even own a radio other than in my car and I have not turned that one on in years. He sounds like an old man.
And oh yeah, 1998 called and said it wants its goatee back.
He’s most likely jealous of Kendrick. In his mind he should have been honored with the Pulitzer. Just like Trump thinking he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. In his dreams…
In his mind, he didn’t get the Pulitzer because of Taylor Swift.
@ Chaine, “TMZ office visitor pass”…..you win! It is so true & unfortunate. Kanye is a complete mess. The Kardashian’s are planning their escape…..
I feel sorry for his kids.
It’s probably because everyone around him and the media started calling him the greatest of all time. Doesn’t take much for a narcissist to believe it.
“why is Kendrick Lamar going home with a Pulitzer Prize and you going home with a TMZ office visitor pass”
Daaaaaaamn, that’s brutal! Well played!
And you’re right, I think Kanye doesn’t understand how the business model has changed over the years. Radio play doesn’t have the value it once did. Streaming is very important, as is licensing.
Totally off topic, but I’m a speech pathologist and look at every still picture of Trump and wonder what sounds he’s making for his mouth to be contorted like that.
As far as I can make out he is saying, “Oink, oink, OOOIIINNNNKKKKK!””
😂😂😂
Dear Kanye,
Slavery wasn’t a choice.
Geniuses don’t use samples in every song.
Sincerely,
People with some damn sense
Saw this yesterday and couldn’t even read it. What a miserable excuse for a human being. Also he was already addicted to opioids BEFORE the liposuction? So, the surgery had nothing to do with his addiction. And why would he have plastic surgery when he went all out on how his mother died from plastic surgery. Also thought story was Rob didn’t show up at the wedding because Kim and Co. were the ones who thought he was too fat and bad for the brand.
Imagine if this was Azealia Banks speaking, instead of KW. Just imagine the backlash.
wow. such a good point. she’d be getting utterly crucified.
I really, really hope Celebitchy is going to cover Wendell Pierce’s tweets. I got CHILLS.
I haven’t seen them. Where can I find them?
https://twitter.com/WendellPierce/status/991532988637810688
OMG I just checked that out. Bunk took no prisoners. Wendell’s comments on Twitter are profound, moving, factual, He is not here for Kanye and makes it very clear that this is unacceptable behavior
Lord Yes. Wendell’s comments were perfect. I feel like Wendell and Van both read Kanye for filth and showed just how much of a uneducated, self-absorbed, narcissistic moron he really is. And yeah, his music is monotonous.
They were really powerful statements. I encourage everyone to read them.
And cue naked pictures from Kim to (attempt to) deflect….
LOL! Does anybody still give a Sh*t about her naked pics. We’ve all seen ’em already. Plus, anybody desperate enough to want to see her naked just had to see her porno…. I”ms till waiting for her damn 15 mins to be up. Her and her whole Klan’s 15 mins
I don’t think there’s a body part she can reveal that’ll distract from this.
LMFAO!!!!
She’s already “revealed” every body part anyways. What is there left to see?
Maybe a tail would work? 3rd nipple?
He needs to STFU already. He is seriously ill, and needs some meds ASAP. He is a danger to himself, and society in general.
Kanye’s ramblings remind me of Jaden and Willow Smith’s out there quotes such as how they can make time slow down, etc. They believe they’re espousing some kind of sophisticated avant garde theories when in reality they’re just spitting out pseudo philosophy bullsh*t.
Came here for this story late last night when the news broke and I didn’t see anything. Well, this is a mess. The TMZ interview was awkward, ridiculous and unbelievable. A mistake would be to further engage Kanye West in a public debate. This man lives in a personal bubble. He’s a narcissist who talks about having superhero confidence. Yeezy doesn’t believe he can be wrong. That’s why he talks so much nonsense. Narcissists don’t self check with any sincerity. So I listen to him? You can’t make a man like that listen to reason. He is not reasonable.
Charlie Sheen 2.0
What the hell Praeger University nonsense is this?!
Everyone commenting should watch the full interview on TMZ live. I can’t feel anything but compassion for either someone in deep substance abuse or compassion for someone who is undeniably mentally ill.
The reason he thinks he can say half of this $hit is because people like you will always say “oh poor kanye” it’s never really his fault.
Mental illness and/or drug abuse isn’t a get out of jail free card for all bad behavior.
People here don’t seem to understand that serious mental illness is not pretty, and that delusions and paranoid beliefs don’t announce themselves as the product of mental illness. We know Kanye has a history with mental illness, and everything points to him having an episode right now. The only thing anyone else has said here that I agree with is: “A mistake would be to further engage Kanye West in a public debate.”
No, there’s plenty of people here who understand that it’s not pretty and how delusions work. There’s plenty of people here who have personal experience with it – and plenty that have very close family members experiencing it as well.
I think all the posters who are stating that they have to fight the stigma of “all mentally ill people are assholes” have a valid voice in this. I also think people need to be held accountable for their actions. If Kanye is deep in the throws of delusional thoughts and experiencing a huge increase in symptoms – what’s the excuse the rest of the time? What’s the excuse for the last decade? What about the “BILL COSBY INNOCENT” tweet. What about his fit throwing backstage at the 2007 VMAs after he lost all awards he was up for. Or when he stopped his concert because the guy in the wheelchair wasn’t standing and complained about how long he had to wait to start up again.
Whenever Kanye does something crappy people rush to the ‘oh he’s mentally ill’ defense. The rest of the time he’s a genius. It’s insulting to everyone else who has to fight to be taken seriously with mental illness.
Errin, yes. Thank you. Kanye has always been a pompous, egotistical, jerk everything he does is not mental illness. He’s just like Trump.
He has money, he can afford the best care in the world, and he refuses. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be able to get the best in mental health therapy. There is no excuse for him.
The taking 2 meds when he went into the hospital and 7 has nothing to do with opioid addiction. Kanye stated he had cold turkeyed the opiates two days before he went to the hospital. The new meds he was given were for his mental state. This is clear when you see Kanye’s 2 most recent interviews. He further stated that he is not med compliant.
I have bipolar disorder and this whole episode bothers me. Maybe he was prescribed 7 psychotropic meds. However, my prescription meds include folic acid and thyroid medicine. (Thyroid is linked to depression.) OTC I take–per my doc’s instructions–omega 3 fish oil and vitamin d. That’s 4 pretty non-controversial meds right there. Yeah, I also take an anti-depressant but c’mon. And he is INCREASING the stigma of mental illness.
Mental illness is not a get out of jail free card.
There are millions of people who live with some form of mental illness every day who do not blame victims for the crimes perpetrated against them (slavery is a choice?), use weapons (be they cars or guns) to assault people who hurt their fee-fees or don’t want to sleep with them, or in any other way do harm to anyone, including themselves. Why? Because they choose not to.
Kanye has access to the best therapy, the best treatment, and the best medication known to mankind and he is still CHOOSING to act this way. And as none of us are his doctors we cannot diagnose and have no proof of any diagnosis beyond public glassbowlery.
So no, he does not get a pass, understanding, or compassion from me. He will, however, get a very large dosage of “cancelled.”
I haven’t said it’s a get out of jail free card. I think Celebitchy is right to report on this, and call it out the content of what he’s saying.
However. People with mental illnesses often fall out of compliance and go off their meds when they are feeling better. Some artists think they create better off their medications. The fact that someone with the best access to treatment still struggles with their illness shows just how difficult mental illness is. I actually think his artistic success, extreme narcissism, and enablers like Kim, who announce they don’t think he has mental health issues make it difficult for Kanye to stay in compliance.
Kanye is cancelled for me too. I was a fan, but regardless of what’s prompting these words, it ruins his music for me. My reaction is really to the people who are denying that his words could possibly be part of *his* overall mental health issues, and are responding with some pretty cruel things themselves.
ETA: I also feel for Kim, and don’t mean to suggest that she’s responsible for his illness. She’s in a tough position.
Uses, excuses. Nothing but excuses.
Your mental illness is organic; quit trying to blame it on things around you.
I wish you would just follow your treatment plan and you could live in a happier place. I know, because I have to make a conscious effort daily to do so.
And the fact you had Liposuction so we wouldn’t berate you?
Change your name Kanye; you are truly now Kanye Kardashian ~
It’s like saying the holocaust never happened. This is wrong. I’m almost convinced he’s still got an opioid problem. They make you feel comfortable, too comfortable. Couple that with his illness that he states he’s not managing by not taking his medication. My brother was bipolar and self medicated with weed and other drugs. He wasn’t a narcissist but these rants aren’t unfamiliar. I won’t listen to this mans music, new and old.
Unfortunately, there are some a-holes who have already said that.
He suffers from extreme narcissism and ignorance – I’m not buying the mental health issue one bit.
Say anything for publicity ! The Kardashians taught him well ! He doesn’t think his music can sell on it’s own…so he does these stupid pr stunts…but they are backfiring. Even nude pics of Kim can’t dig him out of this. Does he really believe the garbage coming out of his mouth? What is he teaching his kids…God.
His thirst for attention has gone too far. I hope he loses every fan he had left. What a disgusting, obnoxious, egomaniac. No wonder he loves Trump so much!
Only semi intelligent thing I got from this new level of crazy is his comment that we’re all mentally imprisoned, ‘Ye being the prime example. That part I can get behind but everything else is too problematic to even touch.
Also, can we please acknowledge how vacant he is in that pic where he’s looking over his left shoulder smiling (also the header pic)? It’s kind of sad. All the money in the world can’t save him. That is the look of someone who has truly checked out. When I was younger I used to work in a mental ward as a volunteer and that look is all too familiar.
It wasn’t “y’all” who was telling Rob Kardashian he was too fat to be in Kim and Kanye’s wedding, it was Kim!!!!!! It has been VERY well documented (cuz that’s what happens when you have a camera crew following you around 24/7) that KIM had been the dishing out the harshest criticism to Rob regarding his weight and his depression and that KIM was the one who didnt want him in her wedding due to his weight. Not “y’all” like Kanye is trying to claim now. What do you want to bet it was Kim et al who encouraged Kanye to have liposuction in the first place, thus causing him to become addicted to painkillers. Good going, Kim. You always DID have your priorities straight.
Just how the hell much control do the Kardashian’s have on this fool?
To undergo the same procedure that killed his mom? WTF?
And he is from Chicago, where I live.
Nobody, absolutely nobody here says “y’all”.
Way to go Kanye Kardashian !
For the record though, I do think it was kind of unforgivable for Beyonce and Jay-z to refuse to go to his wedding, no matter what they thought of Kim. I say this ASSUMING that the Kardashians could have arranged for there to be ZERO footage of the Carters in the subsequent episodes of KUWTW. While I think it was wrong of them not to go, I FULLY support their right NOT to be fodder to get people watching the following season of that God-forsaken show.
I realize why Kanye would be hurt.
But at this point in their lives (with the elevator drama and all) Bey and Jay did not owe anyone a damn moment of their day. They were going through some deep shit.
What I realize is that jay was Kanyes “brother” as long as Jay was getting major benefit from the relationship. Once Kanye needed support, Jay was nowhere to be found.
And I think Kanye realizes this very well, since he did not seem to need an answer why Jay “is like that”. he already knows that Jay cares, but just “not that much”. Kanye sees him as a friend, Jay sees Kanye as a business associate. That`s it.
And there is nothing wrong with Kanye FEELING hurt about it. If he should have gone on a public rant about this is another story.
I was in a situation where, to the outside world, I stopped talking to a “friend” because I got married and didn’t need him anymore. The truth was that the “friend” owed me thousands of dollars, left me in debt, and on top of that disrespected my husband. I dropped him after many years of bailing him out, and felt that disrespecting my husband was the final straw as I entered my marriage in debt because of this “friend.” Yes, the quotations are necessary because obviously he’s no friend. Anyone who sees the situation as an outsider will automatically assume it was a case of me ditching him for a man, but it’s obviously years of these issues. My marriage only highlighted it more.
The point is that we don’t really know why Beyonce and Jay-Z didn’t attend the wedding. It’s very easy to say that it’s because they don’t like Kim but we really don’t know what’s been going on for years. For a long time I’ve read blind items about how Jay-Z bailing out Kanye financially as a result of failed business ventures. I know they’re blind items that need to be taken with a grain of salt, however they provide a very plausible alternative explanation. Me seeing my “friend” with the latest iPhone THAT I WAS PAYING FOR while I still had a flip phone was how the seeds were planted in my situation, and this was long before I met my husband. That pales in comparison to what Kanye/Jay-Z go through, but I can only imagine what Jay and Bey must have thought about Kanye going all out financially with this wedding while still owing them money. Food for thought.
@ Asiyah
With all due respect I think your situation was worse. Because Jay-Z can afford to bail out a million-dollar business failure as it won’t even dent his lifestyle. But – and I assume this – normal people (average income) can’t afford to finance other people.
I suppose Jay-Z thought that the Kardashians would drag down Kanye even further. Bailing out a good artist whose art is selling is one thing. Bailing out a person who marries a Kardashian who will likely try to suck up to you and suck you dry money-wise – is another thing.
I would be so amused should it turn out that the Kardashians do finance Kanye. I mean to ask: does Kanye still have any money?
@Grinning
you’re right about that! I was thinking in terms of money they financed versus money I financed, obviously millions more than me lol
I could see your scenario as well. With my “friend” (who is also an abusive man I dated), another thing that turned the tide for me was when his gf wanted me to get him a car so he can uber. I said do you want to live with me while I financially support the both of you? She just laughed. GTFOH. At that point I saw that if he stayed with this woman AND I remained his friend, I would be sucked dry even more. Lots of times we let things slide when it’s just a one-on-one battle, but when other people get involved, we start rethinking things, and maybe that’s what happened here.
Kanye is clearly trash. Beyonce and Jay Z know must have already known well what a d-bag he is and didnt go to the wedding because they don’t want to be involved with him any more than necessary. If thats the case then they made the right move.
Think of all the dirt we know about Kanye. They must know a lot more and it’s probably a lot worse so why do they need to go to his wedding and act like they’re friends when clearly they arent?
Exactly!
The last person who can make any sort of commentary on mental slavery is Kanye West. This man is obsessed with image, money, brands, power, other people’s opinions of him, etc. etc. So even if one takes into consideration “context” and what he “meant to say,” he has no right to say it because until he liberates HIMSELF he can’t say sh*t to anyone. He “can’t tell me nothing.”
Hey Celebitchy, Kanye is right about dates. Seems like YOU need to read a book. American slavery began in the early 1600s, so NOT 150 years ago.
He clarified his comments today and they make more sense–that the slave population outnumbered the local population and they could have risen up and fought but they were mentally enslaved and were not able.
150 years ago refers to when slavery was abolished in this country, not when it began.
But he said it was a “choice”. Being mentally enslaved was not a “choice” !
” the slave population outnumbered the local population and they could have risen up and fought”
FFS!!! They DID try and they were murdered! Pick up a damn book. There WERE REBELLIONS. HUNDREDS OF THEM.
This is victim blaming with a big scoop of white supremacy.
150 years of slavery in the US?
400 years of slavery in the US?
It went on much much longer.
Every historian knows that ALL antique societies were slave holders. Ancient Greek, Babylonian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Italian, Germanic, Ancient France … take whichever country you want they were all slavers. Often they would enslave their own kind or those from a different tribe. Conditions of enslavement varied but that doesn’t really make it any better.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serfdom
The above article doesn’t really point out the similarities and the differences between serfdom and slavery (the german wikipedia article does that, if you can read german do use it). There are a lot of similarities between slavery and serfdom because in its strict form serfdom is slavery by another name. Sadly the article doesn’t really point that out.
The Africans who were caught in Africa and enslaved and shipped to the USA were often caught by other Africans because those knew where to catch people best and then sold to white traders. (often different tribes and such).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Africa
Even today there are still slave auctions in some countries. The IS is enslaving humans and selling them / giving them as gifts to their fighters. The wars in Syria and the attack on Libya have destabilised these countries and slave trade is going on there. Allegedly there have been slave markets in Mauretania for decades
Even native americans had slaves – often prisoners of war or simply captives from different tribes. Again conditions varied but essentially these pow had to stay and do what they were told.
Today in western modern rich countries there is a considerable number of people who are working poor. And they don’t have many options and they often can’t realise the legal rights they have because sometimes you can’t get your right if you have no money for lawyers and such.
If you apply strict standards for civil rights and personal freedom then this group of working poor doesn’t have civil rights nor personal freedom because they lack money and often education.
The Kardashians know how to pick them.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. needs to have Kanye on Finding Your Roots. The egomaniac he is, linking slavery to him personally might shift his perspective. His ancestors survived too much to be used to sell records. It’s shameful.
Why is it that people use the excuse of “breakdown” or metal health issues when clearly this is just how he is? This is how he has always been- uneducated and a narcissist. Him jumping on stage during the VMA’s? Drunk & narcissism. As others have pointed out, he had one moment 13 years ago and ever since then some were just blind to how he is.
Maybe snoop thought trump was a “baller and a player” , cuz he didn’t know the guy beyond the brand of reality tv and steaks. The indifference turned to concern for over 3 million
Americans when the orange thing became the head of putin’s puppet regime. For Kanye, it’s likely a patterned manic episode before the crash.
Hurtful and ignorant as his comments may be, I hope the man gets the help he clearly needs.
Hmmm. I “cancelled” Kanye when he was publicly praising Tyga for grooming Kylie…I recall that on this site alot of people were upset. I don’t recall anyone linking that to a mental illness, though. Kanye can say whatever he wants-he is a free American. Of course no one has to like it and there will be fallout. But these insinuations that a POC can’t support any candidate (such as Trump,yuck) or political agenda they like unless they are mentally incompetent gives me chills. As for his education or lack thereof and his views on slavery……they are his views. I disagree with him,but as I said, he is free to say what he thinks and believes.
He is the male Stacy Dash
Kayne is one sad and hopeless soul…He needs to either find himself or be put into a rubber room in a straight jacket.
My sister is bipolar and it is so severe she has literally said and done things that are complete lies and some things she doesn’t even remember doing or saying. I don’t know much about his mental stability but yes, these things can happen to people with mental illness. Has he ever been diagnosed or is that something just put out there by the media?
Speaking as someone with bipolar disorder, if she’s lying, that might be some sort of personality disorder unless you mean that she thought she was a pirate and was fantasizing out loud due to her delusion. (Had a bipolar friend do that. She made a costume out of all of her clothes and everything. Ended up in the hospital for a few weeks after that.) I have had times where I don’t remember saying things while manic, though.
Kim has called him manic and he has said that he’s medicated, so I’m pretty confident in calling him bipolar. As for him coming out and saying it directly, I don’t think he has yet, no.
I think he’s seriously mentally ill and has been for years—serious mental illness can cause people to believe/state/fixate on some weird as* concepts. His behavior seems manic, delusional (in the true sense of the phrase), narcissistic to the extreme and makes statements implying he’s a god.
His statements are absolutely appalling, but I still think he’s having some kind of episode, is surrounded by enablers, and it’s the illness speaking. I remember Britany’s meltdown.
I have say Kim must truly love him to push through years of seemingly serious mental illness with him. I’ve found Kanye and Kim’s relationship very weird, though. I am a Kim apologist, but for a strong willed woman, I find it very strange the amount of power she gives him in their relationship–to dictate how she looks and what she wears…
The Kanye of things.
Boo
He is a race traitor.
Race traitor: One who has turned against their race and/or ethnicity in favor of those who would persecute them. i.e. a self loather and/or one who is ashamed of their heritage.
First, the way I read is it that he is saying slavery lasted for 400 years and so since it was so long, that the slaves were making a choice to be brutalized and abused. He’s wrong.
Second, I thought that Rob left before the wedding because he and Kim got into it because he was fat and she thought he would make the pictures look bad? It had nothing to do with the public.
Third, I haven’t ever really liked him, and although I have the tiniest amount of empathy for him due to his being bipolar since I am, too, that isn’t enough for me to care what he is doing or saying at this point. Kim needs to divorce him and let him have his meltdown. She just needs to protect herself and the children while he does.