It feels like there was finally a much-needed pushback on Kanye West over the past 48 hours. Kanye spent about 72 hours going bonkers on Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson, threatening Pete and attacking Pete’s celebrity friends and acquaintances. He also posted screencaps of Kim’s texts to him, begging him to stop threatening Pete and telling him that someone is going to get hurt. People started talking about how f–ked it was that we were watching Kanye abuse, threaten and harass his estranged wife in public. By Tuesday, Kanye completely wiped his Instagram account and then he posted this message:
I’ve learned that using all caps makes people feel like I’m screaming at them. I’m working on my communication. I can benefit from a team of creative professionals, organizers, mobilizers and community leaders. Thank everybody for supporting me. I know sharing screen shots was jarring and came off as harassing Kim. I take accountability. I’m still learning in real time. I don’t have all the answers. To be good leader is to be a good listener.
People were joking about how Kanye’s publicist or manager finally got his Instagram password, but does he even have a manager or publicist at this point? I don’t think he does. And no, it wasn’t that the IG posts “came off as harassing Kim.” His posts were ACTUAL harassment. They were actively doing psychological harm to both Kim and Pete. If anything, I believe Kim has been underplaying how concerned she is for her own safety and the safety of her children and family. She continues to try to put on a peaceful, almost conciliatory public image too:
Amid Kanye’s public declarations, two sources close to Kim exclusively tell E! News her true thoughts on the situation.
“Kim is trying to ignore Kanye’s social media posts and pleas to get back together,” one shares. “She is really happy right now and is having a lot of fun. She likes where she is at in life and is loving this new chapter.”
The insider explains that her and Ye’s four children continue to be her main focus: “As long as the kids are safe and taken care of, that’s all that matters to her.” Kim will “always be cordial and communicate” with Ye when it’s comes to their kids, the insider says. “Kim is hopeful Kanye will be able to move on in the future and accept they aren’t getting back together,” the source goes on. “She wants him to be happy.”
As for Pete, a second source notes that he “doesn’t really spend time on social media,” so he is not totally “aware” of all the drama.
“He doesn’t want to get involved or be in the middle of Kim and Kanye,” the second insider shares with E! News. “He supports Kim with whatever she needs and they try not to focus on it.”
In fact, Pete has “sympathy” for what Ye is going through, per the second source.
“Kim is very good at compartmentalizing and not letting these things get to her,” the second source adds. “She is able to shut it off and ignore when she has to.”
I think Kim probably is good at compartmentalizing, especially when it comes to Kanye. She’s maintained this public facade of “over it, hope he’s happy, hope he moves on” for months now. On one side, that’s probably the right way to approach it from a PR perspective. On the other side, Kanye HATES that she isn’t playing his game anymore and he will continue to do this sh-t. It’s my hope that Kim is taking all of this seriously from a legal perspective, and that she and Laura Wasser (her divorce lawyer) have had serious conversations about restraining orders and Kim asking for sole custody of the kids.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instagram.
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- New York, NY – Kim Kardashian is a goddess in all pink as she arrives at the SNL after party at the ZeroBond in New York City. Pictured: Kim Kardashian BACKGRID USA 9 OCTOBER 2021 BYLINE MUST READ: PapCulture / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Kim Kardashian leaves The Ritz-Carlton hotel for an event in New York City. Pictured: Kim Kardashian West BACKGRID USA 1 NOVEMBER 2021 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Kim Kardashian steps out in head-to-toe Balenciaga as she heads out in NYC. Pictured: Kim Kardashian BACKGRID USA 2 NOVEMBER 2021 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Whittier, CA – Kanye West is all smiles as attends DONDA Academy homecoming basketball game along with artist French Montana and OT Genasis in Whittier, Ca Pictured: Kanye West, French Montana, OT Genasis BACKGRID USA 22 DECEMBER 2021 BYLINE MUST READ: ShotbyNYP / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Whittier, CA – Kanye West is all smiles as attends DONDA Academy homecoming basketball game along with artist French Montana and OT Genasis in Whittier, Ca Pictured: Kanye West, French Montana, OT Genasis BACKGRID USA 22 DECEMBER 2021 BYLINE MUST READ: ShotbyNYP / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paris, FRANCE – Kanye West and his girlfriend Julia Fox arrive back at the Ritz Hotel during the fashion week in Paris. Pictured: Kanye West, Julia Fox BACKGRID USA 24 JANUARY 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Kanye West and Vic Mensa greet a fan as they arrive at his apartment in Los Angeles. Pictured: Kanye West BACKGRID USA 5 FEBRUARY 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Piper / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Hollywood, CA – Kanye West is in good spirits as he exits his star-studded Netflix documentary premiere of ‘Jeen-yuhs’ in Hollywood. Pictured: Kanye West BACKGRID USA 11 FEBRUARY 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
I wonder what finally got through to him to let someone take his phone. Behind the scenes legal action?
I don’t think anyone got through to him. It’s a game to him and as a malignant narcissist he got the attention he craved. Now with this message, he’ll get people supporting him and talking about how he’s learned his lesson. The guy is a toxic loser and his apologists are about the same.
This. She finally gave him attention so he stopped. For now.
I agree. This “accountability” is just another form of manipulation.
This is textbook abuse behavior: Acts of violence, followed by fake remorse, in order to coerce the victim back to his control.
I dunno, I have a hard time believing he would willingly apologize or admit any wrong doing. Plus it doesn’t sound at all like him. It’s like someone said let me fix this and get rid of the evidence, but Kim’s lawyers definitely have all the screenshots.
This. She responded, so he’s happy. Someone needs to send her “The Gift of Fear” – now he’s learned what he has to do to get her to respond, and he’ll keep doing it.
I think it’s possible that someone managed to get through to Kanye that he was likely to damage his custody arrangements if he kept up the harassment. The about face on IG was so complete that it makes me think he realized that what he was doing was counterproductive.
He doesn’t care about those kids. He cares that she left him. Nobody leaves him. He leaves them. If they did get back together in six months he would be leaving her. But that would be okay because it was him doing the leaving.
Perhaps. But I think it’s more likely Kim finally gave him the attention he wanted. He did post: “I got a text from my favorite person!” So that’s what he wanted. Then he calmed down.
I guarantee if Kim starts ignoring him again he will revert back immediately.
I will put this in a way Kanye can relate to:
KIM NEEDS TO GET AN ORDER OF PROTECTION OR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST KANYE. ANYTHING LESS WILL BRING FURTHER ABUSE.
Exactly
this is textbook abusive behavior from him. Escalating threats and harrasment once the victim leaves is something abusers are known for. The time right around leaving an abusive partner is considered particularly dangerous for victims exactly because abusers often escalate their behavior then.
It’s scary watching this and scary that there’s even one person left who’s still a fan of Kanye.
She may already have one. I don’t know if those have to be public records.
I don’t know how easy it is to get sole custody in the US but I hope she goes down that route too. Whether they want a relationship with their father in the future can be up to them but for now, he seems dangerous. I’d be scared in her position that he wasn’t going to return them.
She’s completely doing the right thing. I’ve never been a Kim K fan or really liked what she stood for but I feel for her with all this. No matter how hard she tries to compartmentalise, it has to be taking its toll and be terrifying at times. If he’s like this now, who knows what he’s been like at home for all those years. I’m guessing she’s really been though it.
In my experience, married and divorced to a narcissist in California, the courts don’t block a parent’s custody unless they’re abusive to the *kids* and/or a severe addict. By the age of 15, my son had begun facing my ex’s narcissist raging and no longer wanted to live w him 50%. He stated he was never going back to his dads house to live. His dad accepted it which kind of surprised me. It is tragic that we have to leave our kids with someone we know will eventually hurt them.
That was also our experience. My kid will never see him again. We get letters and cards all the time about how regretful he is about how “immature” he was. He is the same person, and it is in every word he writes. We are terrified of him, but we live our lives. She is afraid that he will show up on her doorstep one day, and so am I.
A restraining order is just a piece of paper. It needs to be registered at the local police department. The target has to end communication completely. Kim can’t because she is a public figure. He sees her public life and will always comment. I believe that she is transitioning to no contact.
Like your ex and mine, he won’t be able to control his abusive behavior. I believe that the West kids will for the most part STOP seeing their father like the Jolie-Pitt kids have seemed to do. They will tire of the responsibility he places on them to keep him happy.
This is Alice Evans/Phil Hartman/Trump/Depp all over again. And again. And again. Phil Hartman was murdered by his wife. And everyone who has been through this is reading infuriating “mansplaining” about it. But I am heartened that so many have stepped up to condemn this behavior.
People are finally learning.
I’m sorry you had that experience @Coconut. I’m still going through the process with my ex but we are in the UK so I thought the system might be different. It sounds very similar though.
My ex had been abusive towards the kids. We split a long time ago but once I realised, I stopped contact. Unfortunately here, even if they’re sure the abuse did take place, unless is very extreme, they’ll still push for some level of contact.
Putting your kids through a process where they have to speak out against someone they’re already afraid of to total strangers and then not even being able to guarantee they’ll never be put back in that situation again goes against every instinct but there is no alternative. It’s a terrible system.
This is horrific and I really feel for Kim. Also, it got me wondering how long Pete is going to stick around. If I was him I would seriously consider how involved in this mess I would want to be.
he really doesn’t do social media, so it’s plausible that he’s really not aware of just how bad it is. hopefully Lorne is stepping up security.
he is in no way the problem or responsible here. I just hope everyone stays safe. even Kanye, altho I suppose he has god to protect him. Julia doesn’t know how lucky she is.
at least SOMEone is taking this seriously! I remember when people thought Charlie Sheen and tiger blood were the funniest things they’d ever heard of. exploiting mental illness will never be cool.
It’s 2022, and he’s dating the most famously online woman in the world. He knows, trust me. (Hopefully he’s no scrolling around himself, but he has A Team. And if he personally doesn’t have A Team, he’s involved with Kim’s team on this and however NBC wants/needs to be involved.)
This is all a really big deal. Pete’s not roaming around NYC alone and naïve about it.
Pete has his own mental health issues. I hope he doesnt stick around too long.
I am definitely worried for Pete (as well as the kids and Kim of course). Presumably he knows what he’s doing and is protected by private security, but he’s had serious mental health issues and even suicidal ideation in the past. He does NOT need more stress.
I have thought from the getgo that this won’t last because (a) Pete really doesn’t seem like he’s gonna be ready to stepdad to 4 young children, and then (b) Kanye, who is being worse than even I expected. I wish them the best, but….
Pete is continually coming off as the best person in this mess. Even the text message kanye posted backfired because it made Pete sound like a total sweetheart and way more mature than kanyes controlling old ass.
He may look like a frat boy but this whole mess is reminder to never judge a book by its cover.
I think Pete is such a good guy he honestly does feel sorry for Kayne.
I think so, too! There’s something about Pete that seems so genuine and kind to me.
Also the fact that Pete was painted as being the same as Kanye simply because he’s been open about his mental health struggles. As if people with mental health issues issues aren’t individuals.
I’m proud of Pete for not only responding to Kanye via SNL but using that moment as a PSA to everyone that there’s no shame in taking one’s meds. He’s honest about his mental health struggles and it’s good to see it being talked about on such a big platform.
@Sue: Pete hasn’t publicly responded to any of Kanye’s recent outbursts. The clip where Pete is on Weekend Update telling Kanye to take his meds is from 2018 and was in response to Kanye’s appearance on the show that year when he wore a MAGA hat and did some kind of rant at the closing of the show. The clip has aged really well since Pete is currently dating Kim but he has smartly stayed quiet. When he and Kim inevitably break up, I can’t wait to hear him do standup about this whole mess. I’m sure he’ll be very nice about Kim (he didn’t even trash Ariana in his Netflix special when he could have) but it’s his commentary on Kanye I want to hear.
Dang right. Pete is the mature one here, go figure. Definitely the nice one.
I continue to be disturbed by people who say she had it coming. I understand why they think they’re right, but damn. I’m glad I haven’t seen those people in this comment thread (yet). I have compassion for this woman, for these children. And I will never understand a society that does not reject this abuse and harassment full stop.
I don’t understand why they think they’re right. I keep hearing about how awful the family is but, as I only occasionally pay attention to them, I haven’t seen that much actual evidence. I mean when Lamar Odom od’d, the whole family flocked to his side to support him but if you read the comments, it was all about how they supposedly caused his mental health problems. Lamar has had issues since childhood. He credits the Kardashians for stabilizing him. It’s like that with everything.
there are legit things that are gross about the Kardashians – blackfishing / cultural appropriation, using sweatshop labour, and just the general obscenity of their wealth
curiously tho most people seem to be fixated on the idea that they are cursed sirens bewitching and destroying successful black men (based mostly on khloe’s relationships) – i feel that’s a stretch and steeped in a lot of sexism and general misunderstanding of the dynamics of codependent relationships
going even further back, tho, a lot of the hate seems to come from the fact that they are overtly sexual women who have profited rather than being ruined by their shamelessness – the whole “the devil works hard but kris works harder” line is really about her spinning the straw of a sex tape into the gold of a family empire
when you think about kim’s most brazen contemporaries – paris, lindsay, britney – they each suffered a “comeuppance” and have since been exonerated in public opinion – but kim and her family have evaded punishment at every turn and the public want their pound of flesh
I understand that people hate what their family stands for and that she should have been more outspoken when he bullied other women and I agree. But I don’t think she had it coming because of that. I am also tired of prefacing all my posts with “I don’t like Kim but” or seeing other people write that. Wether I like her or not has nothing to do with her being stalked, bullied and harassed by an abusive ex. Also when we see what is playing out in public we have to wonder what was happening behind the scenes and it’s fair to speculate to what degree he controlled and mentally abused her and how that played its part in her silence with regards to his problematic behaviour over the years.
I’m definitely guilty of prefacing my comments with “i don’t like / follow the kardashians” because I find the comments on posts about them seem to split down fandom lines in a really ugly, all or nothing kind of way and so I get drawn to pushback on the idea you have to be ALL IN for your faves and ALL OUT for the celebs you perceive as villains
Good point. It’s not about that. The fact that you don’t like or know someone, or aren’t getting bills paid by them doesn’t mean there isn’t valid reason to be afraid for them. It doesn’t mean the dangers in how they’re being treated only affect Kim either. It’s so easy to get caught up in flashing the dislike badges just to have permission to talk about things like this, or on relying on a woman’s popularity/likeability to make it safe to talk about abuse and a pattern of misogyny. Anti-SJWs don’t want it to be safe for women to point out those patterns either.
Kris Jenner truly the hardest working woman on the planet.
I work for a Domestic Violence agency and we are watching this play out in horror. February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month and all of the red flags are there. I hate that this is considered entertainment and am so grateful for Celebitchy for placing the correct narrative and context around what is happening here.
Hi, MariaT. So glad that you chimed in. I am grateful to Kaiser for being so sensitive and knowledgeable about domestic violence, and for incorporating the comments from us survivors to comments into her work. Kaiser always cared. But she breaks through the mansplaining BS in the larger media. This is important work, and it helps save lives.
Kaiser, chica, you are doing a public service, and I adore you for it!
I suspect Kanye’s lawyer got a hold of him and told him that what he’s doing is wrong and appears to be harassment and coercive control.
yes! i expect his accountants and lawyers are probably some of the few true professionals still associated with him (and in the case of the lawyers, it seems he still goes through those pretty quickly)
He keeps firing his legal teams so I doubt it was a lawyer who convinced him to this.
Kanye needs to take his damn meds.
or you know, he may be taking his meds and is still a controlling asshole because that’s entirely unrelated to being mentally ill
I am absolutely certain that he is a controlling asshole even when he’s on his meds. But his behaviors have been off the beam, and symptomatic of someone who is not taking medication or not taking it properly.
i bothers me when i see mental illness conflated with abuse/violence, or when i see “medication” (which one? what dose?) framed as a panacea because it belies the complexity of addressing either issue, even when you’re appropriately medicated
agree tho it would be nice if these things were as simple as taking your damn meds
Meds can only help at this point. He’s so off the rails. He’d probably always be a dick, though.
I feel badly for Kim, the kids, and Pete. Nobody deserves this kind of treatment. Full stop.
I hope Kanye gets help and can be a healthy co-parent. If not, I hope Kim gets a restraining order and sole custody.
Except that he has already posted and deleted another IG post with a pic of Kim and ALL CAPS message.
There’s no way he wrote that post.
I had an abusive ex in my 20s who pulled this kind of crap. Tried to get my attention on every level – calls, texts, letters and social media and when none of those worked, he started threatening to hurt himself or someone else. Oh and then he faked having cancer. I see all the red flags here. I hope Kim gets a restraining order and is able to keep those poor kids away from this lunatic until he accepts the help he so desperately needs.
I’m sorry you went through that – that’s awful and you’re absolutely right – all the flags are here
When I was a kid (5 or 6), my mom left an abusive, controlling marriage and eventually, started dating again. My father spewed such vile vitriol about my m
1. You’re way too old for duck lips, Kim. 2. Get a restraining order. Threatening to hurt Pete and then wanting back together with Kim? 3. See number 2.
The web site Jezebel is the first, other than the writers here, to explicitly call out Kanye for domestic abuse. The expert they quote nails it. “And when the abusive ex partner no longer has physical or emotional control of the victim because they have left the situation, the ex partner often resorts to causing havoc around their target in order to maintain power and control even after they’ve left their relationship.”
Like most people here have been saying, Kanye’s behavior is unhinged and dangerous.
Kim’s camp is categorizing Kanye’s death threats as “social media posts” and giving them equal weight with the pleas to get back together which really minimizes the tone, content and harm of the threatening posts so I think media outlets who are rightfully calling this out as abuse may be swimming upstream trying to get that message out. This is one way to de-escalate things, for sure, but it seems sort of self-gaslighting, if that’s a thing.
getting into things publicly would be giving him what he’s after – connection and control thru chaos – so it makes sense that she’s not taking that bait
The best apology is changed behavior. Otherwise it’s just hollow words and crocodile tears.
He looks like a trash collector.
If thats what he thinks he is, he’s associating with the wrong people. They’re all out of his league.
I can’t put my finger on this, but something just doesn’t seem right with any of this. I tend to not comment on Kim or Kanye posts, because part of me just never believes any of what we are seeing is totally true. I just don’t know what the heck is going on here. Do I think Kim is different, yes, absolutely. She has openly moved on. But there’s something about Kanye…that just feels performative with his crazy?
Something I’m curious about….Pete’s relationships have always been relatively short-lived with the woman usually calling it quits…I’m getting vibes that this time…Pete might walk and soon.
That’s an interesting feeling. Kanye has an album and a documentary dropping within the next month so I do think there’s a reason it’s happening now instead of 6 months ago. I’m assuming it’s related to the stress of the releases rather than outright faked for publicity however. Part of this is that Kim has supported/participated in his promo in the past (eg. weird mask outfits, wedding dress performance) but this is certainly not that.
As far as Pete’s short relationships, based on absolutely nothing, I generally assume (and he has spoken about) he goes in SUPER strong early which I think for a lot of women kind of ends up like “look, I’m still trying to get to know you, this is not what I’m after, I’m going to step back”. And he has a great strategy of never commenting (other than some mild Ariana digs). I also wouldn’t be surprised if they end things soon, mutually, due to all this drama.
“And no, it wasn’t that the IG posts ‘came off as harassing Kim.’ His posts were ACTUAL harassment.”
Thank you for saying this. It needed to be said.