Kanye West on abortion: ‘You need the male and the female opinion’

Paris Jackson attends church with Kanye West and the Kardashians in Calabasas

Maybe Kanye West has always been this ignorant, this stupid, this misogynistic. I tend to believe that he always had that vein of willful ignorance and misogyny in him, but all of it has gotten so much worse in the past four or five years. That was when Kanye really started to have these regular breakdowns, and his manic episodes became increasingly public and dangerous. I still believe that he was in a manic episode when he decided to “run for president” a few months ago. I also believe he’s stupid, ignorant and misogynistic enough to think that he’s qualified to run for president regardless of how his mental illness affects him.

When he decided to “run,” he made a “campaign stop” in South Carolina, where he wailed and sobbed about how he wanted Kim Kardashian to have an abortion when she was pregnant with North. That’s the crux of so many anti-choice stories: “I once considered abortion, therefore no one should have an abortion.” No, it doesn’t make sense. Anyway, Kanye returned to his favorite topic, how no woman should have an abortion, in an interview with Nick Cannon. I won’t embed the video because no, I just won’t. He also returned to another favorite subject: Taylor Swift. Some highlights:

Why he stage-rushed Taylor Swift at the VMAs in 2009: “Right now, God is giving me the information and he ain’t give me no other information […] So that means he wants me to say this now. If God ain’t want me to run on stage and say Beyoncé had the best video, he wouldn’t have sat me in the front row. I would’ve been sitting in the back and they would’ve made it the first award and he wouldn’t have made it so ridiculous, because I had never heard of this person before and ‘Single Ladies’ is one of the greatest videos of all time…. I was only drinking Hennessy because I didn’t want to go to the awards show because it was a set-up.”

Family at the center of everything: “Family is just the key to the world, period. From our immediate family to our friends and family, our co-workers and family, our city and family, our state and family, our country and family, our world. The culture of humanity needs to be family. The design of our cities, the design of our schools, there’s a lot of things designed for us to not promote family, they’re designed to create separation.”

On abortion and race: “There’s some harsh facts that deal with the black genocide that is abortion, and it’s happening every day,” West said, adding that God had given him this information because he wanted him to use his platform to share it. Over the past 50 years, the rap superstar said, more than 22.5 million black children were aborted “strategically and on purpose. Planned Parenthood was set up and placed in minority communities to kill black people.” While noting that black babies were aborted every day, West argued that “we are inside of genocide as we speak.”

Whether men should speak about abortion: “That’s how shook we are about using the word ‘abortion’ as men,” he said. Cannon shared West’s frustration as a male, saying that it was an argument made by those on the pro-choice side of the issue that men couldn’t be involved in the conversation. “Well, that’s a strategy to take the male opinion out of any conversation, like taking the leaders and the males out of neighborhoods in the ’80s. You need both opinions, you need the male and the female opinion.”

[From Page Six and NME]

The whole thing about designing cities and schools and our world for families is the part which really just made me go “????” I mean, if he wants to see what a world designed for families looks like, just go to any affluent suburb. That’s it. He negates the single experience, he negates the experiences of those of us who choose to be child-free, who choose not to have large families around us constantly. It’s just bonkers how he wants to take away all of these choices for everyone. Inside, Kanye is just a MAGA-wearing white dude who wants to control women and children with his own bonkers theories about the world. And all of the sh-t he says about genocide and Margaret Sanger and all of that… all of that is straight out of the most unhinged anti-choice propaganda. Someone has his ear. Who?

Kanye West attends a church event in Miami covered in silver

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

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61 Responses to “Kanye West on abortion: ‘You need the male and the female opinion’”

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  1. Léna says:

    I don’t who’s saying all this shit to him, but it certainly isn’t God

    • A says:

      He’s going on about family, but is he even around his kids all that much, or participating in any of the non-fun aspects of raising children? My sense is no.

      • jenellesTiktok says:

        Exactly, parenting isn’t all fun if someone takes it even half seriously and while I do think he loves his kids, the NPD is consuming him and he seems to want a role more like the fun uncle.

    • jenellesTiktok says:

      It’s probably a vicious cycle; once he started cozying up to Trump, starting with that meeting in Trump Tower, he probably was attracting a more right wing following through social media, was influenced through the Internet posts and such by his new followers. He probably wouldn’t have heard of Candace Owens otherwise. Then he tweeted about her and got sucked into her orbit for a while, only breaking with her because he caught her trying to make a profit off him through the “Blexit” merch line.
      Plus he got super into evangelical Christianity about the same time, and that’s become an increasingly partisan movement (like many things in America) since the 80s. At first when I heard that his running mate was going to be this prosperity gospel style minister, I thought that she might be who put all this in his head. But he probably gelled with her because all these other people had been influencing him in that direction already.

      The attack on reproductive rights as something that’s aimed deliberately at depopulating minorities goes back a long ways. Henry Hyde was using that in the Congressional debate in 1993. They don’t talk about Planned Parenthood’s other work like initiatives aimed at reducing the higher infant mortality rate among African Americans with better prenatal care.

  2. Mynameispearl says:

    I can’t respect him, that photo of him dressed in silver off to deliver one of his delusional sermons. Go away for a bit Kanye and look after your mental health.

  3. Jess says:

    Can’t imagine why we are choosing to even consider/discuss/analyze this person’s opinions or thoughts on any topic.

  4. Lindy says:

    When the male is the one having to undertake the physical risks and burdens of pregnancy, labor and delivery, and breastfeeding… And when the male has to take the career hit, and when men do as much or more of the childcare and household labor including the emotional and mental energy it demands….

    Then sure. But since that’s nowhere near reality, then no.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      yeah, this right here.

      until men can get pregnant, they call just STFU when it comes to women’s reproductive choices.

      but wait, if he feels this way, then surely he thinks women should be part of the conversation on vasectomies and Viagra. as in, the woman gets to decide if the man gets snipped, and the woman gets to decide whether or not a man should get a ‘scrip for Viagra. easy peasy.

    • smcollins says:

      👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

      And how many men have decided to walk away late in a woman’s pregnancy leaving her all alone to take on ALL of the responsibilities? A “luxury” women certainly don’t have.

    • NotSoSocialButterfly says:

      This was my thought at first, along with a, “f*ck you, Kanye,” then I decided- sure- a man can give his opinion, but he sure as shit can’t give his consent.

      My body, my choice.

    • Lizzieb says:

      @lindy. Just a thought. Maybe if men practised birth control and only had sex with women they were willing to have a child with we could give them a more equal vote. Oh and add in the points you made. Am all for a committed couple making the decision together….sadly that is often not the case

    • Tiffany :) says:

      I totally agree….
      And also, WHEN have men EVER been taken out of the conversation on abortion? MEN are the vast majority of politicians and judges in our country, and they have been writing and interpreting the laws about OUR bodies for as long as this country has been in existence. I WISH we had the power that he assumes we do!

      He’s so wrong in so many ways!

    • Hello says:

      Exactly.

  5. Nicole says:

    Seriously where do Conservatives get their statistics on Black abortion? Anecdotally I can tell you that many poor black women really don’t believe in abortion. In addition, reliable reproductive health care is not available to them as it is in more affluent neighborhoods. I had an abortion 13 years ago, in my second year of graduate school and I don’t regret it. Why, because I wanted economic self determination. Because I knew that, contrary to what the Right likes to think, systemic racism exists, and I could not be going into job interviews pregnant. It was the right decision FOR ME. And it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I never told the man (who was a one night stand) that I did it and I’m sure if we were to talk he would appreciate it.

    • Mrs.Krabapple says:

      Planned Parenthood SAVES lives. It provides cancer screenings that poor women otherwise could not get. It also provides affordable birth control, which REDUCES the number of abortions. If there were more Planned Parenthoods in the world, the number of abortions would drop.

  6. Andrew’s Nemesis says:

    Male opinion? Here’s the female opinion on male opinions. Get out of our f@cking uteruses.

  7. Lavande says:

    Sick of this idiot and his degrading porn star spouse

  8. GrnieWnie says:

    Men are involved in abortion. As in abortion laws and restrictions are made overwhelmingly by men. What he should say: men should be more involved in taking responsibility for reproduction. You’re welcome, Kanye. (I’m a huge believer in normalizing vasectomies over hormonal birth control).

    Idk if there’s any credence to the claims about abortion and black Americans. I think it’s possible, given history. But I also know that pregnancy is a possibility, not a promise. And it drives me nuts the way these anti-choice people count abortions as though every fetus would have become viable human life otherwise. Since most abortions happen in the first trimester, this simply isn’t knowable. But these people don’t like complexity. God forbid anyone acknowledge that race correlates with wealth, so any claims you can make about black communities being targeted by clinics could also probably be made about poor communities. It is difficult to unravel the two without serious study.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      This is a great post. You have so many good points! I was going to respond to one, then I kept reading and there’s just too much that I agree with to list!

  9. JennyJenny says:

    I NEVER tire of seeing him in his Jiffy Pop outfit!!!

  10. Lightpurple says:

    When they show you who they really are, believe them. He showed the world who he was when he took that stage that night: a pushy male, who believes he has the right to tell women what they do or don’t deserve and what we can or cannot do with our bodies.

    • Betsy says:

      But golly that was not the message then, was it? I had no real opinion regarding Kanye prior to that event, had a negative opinion of him since and he’s just gotten worse as time has passed.

  11. Susie says:

    Weird I think designing the world around families is the only thing he said that makes sense. If the world was created for families paid paternal and maternal leave would be mandatory. So would free childcare. Also many sidewalks and public transportation are not built for strollers and young children. Plus school times are the worst for people who don’t work bankers hours. And 2 free months in the summer makes absolutely no sense anymore. The world especially the conservative world likes to pretend it likes babies but then you actually look beyond the superficial the world is designed to basically punish any family that doesn’t have a partner at home. The world is still in the image of dad goes to work and mom stays at home. We punish mostly women (but I also include men) the second they decide to have babies. I argue that millennials not having as many kids has less to do with choice and more to do with accessibility. I have a friend who wants a baby but her family and in laws live too far to help so she would be stuck basically doing everything by herself essentially. The people who succeed the best are those with family help and even then if you are low income it’s incredibly difficult and expensive and emotionally lonely and exhausting to have kids. To continue this low key rant there was a study in a Nordic country which showed how even simple decisions are basically anti female and therefore anti family. They Originally cleared snow on main roads and highways first and changed that to inside neighborhoods and it changed a lot of things and saved the area a lot of money. Because women tend to do many Small trips like dropping kids off at school or do grocery shopping Having the streets cleaned earlier lead to less accidents and reduced medical care when the city prioritized them over the long distance commuters which are typically male. Which also saved money. We built our world for men in ways that many of us still don’t understand. And if we genuinely prioritized families which would require us to prioritize women things would be a lot better. Other than that everything Kanye said was crap which hurts cuz he was the first music that I really listened to and didn’t just repeat in the radio. He sounds like a real male hotep. And as a black woman while I understand the anger and frustration to leads to hotepness it just sounds like regular old misogyny to me.

    • Laura says:

      How do you define “family?” I’m uncomfortable with single and/or childless people being marginalized or as second class citizens.

    • Léna says:

      Susie! Did you read Invisible Women? It’s the book I’m reading at the moment and it is describing exactly what your are saying.

      It’s a great book, but it’s not the first book I read on the topic of feminism, and everytime I’m so angry ready the numbers and the facts that I have to take breaks to calm myself down

  12. Miasys says:

    Thank you, JennyJenny- that made my day!
    Can we please only use the Jiffy pop outfit for all future Ye stories?

  13. Valerie says:

    He needs help now. When someone starts talking about God giving them messages and special information, that’s when you call someone.

    • Regina Falangie says:

      Wrong, God talks to all of us. You just have to listen.

      He needs help because he’s mentally ill. And also an asshole.

    • Trillion says:

      god delusions are common theme in manic episodes. When my sister has a manic phase, I always hopes she leans god-complex rather than her other go-to, which is sex obsession. Both are scary, but the latter has resulted in some horrible events.

  14. alibeebee says:

    if you do not have a womb yourself .. you have no say or dominion over what said womb/ uterus holder does with it.

    I hate it when non uterus owners think they can police the bodies of those who happen to have uteruses…

    Kanye can Take several seats!!!

  15. Sarah says:

    No uterus, no opinion. Furthermore, mind your own uterus. Period.

  16. KellyRyan says:

    Get psychological help. My body, my choice.

  17. TheOriginalMia says:

    When a man can have a baby, his opinion will be considered. Since he can’t, I don’t listen to them about a woman’s reproduction decisions.

  18. Mtec says:

    He acts like he cares about Black lives but fails to care about the fact that Black women have a higher maternal mortality rate than others. If he wants to pretend to care about Black babies being born, he needs to start to see and respect women, and care about our lives first. We’re not just f***ing wombs.

    • Mrs.Krabapple says:

      Thank you! The maternal death rate for black women is alarmingly high. It is many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many (about 50 “many”s) times higher than the death rate from having an abortion. A black woman giving birth faces a chance of death that is higher than an on-duty police officer. And yet, we worry so much about the “dangers” police face, that it’s “justified” for them to kill unarmed people if they even *suspect* their own safety might be in danger. Since black women face an even higher risk, why isn’t it “ok” for them to have an abortion, for their own safety?

  19. Sparky says:

    Kanye says assh*lish things because he’s an ass not because he’s bipolar. Signed==someone who spent way more time at UCLA’s psych ward than Kanye. Seriously, the bipolar community is not happy with the notoriety Kanye is bringing the illness.

    • Kkat says:

      You can be an asshole and bipolar re: Kanye

      But being bipolar DOES NOT make you a narcissistic asshole if it isn’t who you already are

      I’m bipolar, my kids are bipolar, one of my sisters is bipolar (she is a narcissistic asshole) and I have friends that are bipolar
      Besides my sister, none of us are narcissistic assholes

      My older son who is 25, is sweet, empathic, compassionate and an all around nice guy.
      He is also very bipolar.
      Being bipolar does not affect your base personality

  20. Jalene says:

    1. ‘You need the male and female opinion’ – short for ‘the man will decide’

    2. If we need both opinions on someone elses body, we need more men having vasectomies and shutting the hell up! That’s a female opinion right there.

  21. Jalene says:

    This man needs to take several seats.

  22. Annaloo. says:

    The male option is to keep your d*ck in your pants. Period.

    Shut up Kanye

  23. Lucy says:

    F*CK OFF, WEST. F*ck. Off.

  24. Liz version 700 says:

    No disrespect Kanye, but I don’t need advice on decisions regarding my body from a man who goes around dressed like a Hershey Kiss

  25. ce says:

    Oh look, two douche men giving their opinions on reproductive rights.
    Please stop reporting on Kanye.

  26. MerlinsMom1018 says:

    Ummmmm. Is it just me or did anyone else not understand a single thing about what he was saying?

  27. Lunasf17 says:

    He is garbage and always has been. I get mental illness is hard to live with and have compassion for him and his family dealing with that but fuck him. He music is all auto tuned crap. I seriously do not get what talent anyone sees is him or why anyone would associate themselves with him. I kind of feel bad for his wife but she knew the trade off, she isn’t with him because he is a loving partner or a good father. She was a grown woman who went into this marriage with her eyes on the dollar signs. Poor kids.

  28. Leah says:

    No. The woman carries the child and it’s her body so = her choice. End of.

    All these men want to do is control women. The day Kanye grows a uterus and a vagina is the day he’s allowed to voice an option about such things. Until then, he needs to stay in his own lane.

  29. serena says:

    This is utter BS. “, that’s a strategy to take the male opinion out of any conversation” … Just when has the male opinion EVER been left out of any conversation?

    God isn’t giving or telling you anything, you unhinged idiot, shut up.

    • Otaku fairy says:

      “Just when has the male opinion EVER been left out of any conversation?” Exactly. ‘The Male Opinion’ almost always gets used by both sexes to determine whether or not female choices around the body are to be tolerated, and how women or girls will be treated. That’s part of the problem- an unwillingness to acknowledge just how much we allow that to control our reactions to and treatment of women at every level, including reproductive rights. The Kanye’s of the world are just used to that going unchallenged.

  30. boobra says:

    sooooooooo if a woman falls pregnant as a result of sexual assault, am i to understand that if Kanye gets his way, she would have to seek her abuser’s input?

    God forbid something like this happens to his wife or daughters, will he still hold onto this thinking?
    was this guy dropped on his head in the delivery room?
    KIM COME GET YO MAN!

  31. detritus says:

    So I assume because he wants fewer abortions his platform includes an increase to expansive social services and education reform, an inquest and reforms to hospitals where the death of black women during labour are so high it’s scary, and socialized medicine so everyone can access birth control?

    No?

    That’s how you know he doesn’t actually care for black children. He cares about shaming black women and his misogynoir is pretty ever present, but super on display here.

  32. Leigh Crosby says:

    He’s been hanging out a lot with the CEO of chik-fil-a lately and others in that circle. You can imagine the hyper-conservative Christianity being pounded into his brain.

  33. Atti says:

    Of course he does an interview with black-people-are-the-real-jews and white-people-have-no-souls Nick Cannon.