Last Updated on 10/29/2022 by てんしょく飯
Kanye West (real name: Ye), who has repeatedly said and done inappropriate things, has had his relationship terminated by his agent, his lawyer, and even Adidas, with whom he has collaborated for almost nine years. We will follow the uproar in chronological order and spotlight the mental health issues that Kanye has been openly discussing for years.
Kanye West’s Racist Remarks Riots in Chronological Order
October 3 – WLM Tops Controversial – Kanye and several models wore “White Lives Matter” tops at Kanye West’s fashion show. Jaden Smith left when the racist slogan, which promotes white supremacy and was created in response to the “Black Live Matter” protest movement calling for an end to violence and discrimination against black people, appeared. He was subsequently criticized by prominent fashion editors and models Gigi Hadid and Hailey Bieber.
October 4 – Battle with Supreme Designer – The late designer Virgil Abloh claimed that he was killed by LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault. Then Supreme designer Tremaine Emory revealed on social media that Kanye had said bad things about Virgil’s designs before Virgil’s death. He criticized Kanye for not using the late Virgil’s name for his own benefit, saying, “Tell everyone why you weren’t invited to Virgil’s private funeral.”
October 5: Complaints from the Kardashians – As Kanye continued to post on social media, Khloe Kardashian, sister of ex-wife Kim Kardashian, said, “I don’t want to do this on social media, but you always do it here,” as “Enough. We all know the truth and I think we’re all sick of it,” she criticized Kanye.
October 5: Diddy and Diddy in Tongue War – Rapper Diddy denounces Kanye’s “White Lives Matter” rant, and Kanye responds to Diddy’s rebuttal. Kanye responded by claiming that Diddy is controlled by Jewish people.
October 6: Appearance in conservative media – Kanye appeared in an interview with Tucker Carlson of Fox News, considered the most popular news anchor among white supremacists. He made unsubstantiated claims about abortion and also brought up the name of artist Rizzo, saying that being overweight is “genocide of black people.”
October 6 Adidas begins to reconsider partnership – Adidas announces in a statement that it is “reviewing the partnership” in light of Kanye’s recent words and actions, despite “repeated efforts to resolve the issue in private.” In response, Kanye said, “Fuck Adidas. I am Adidas. Adidas raped and stole my designs,” he posted on Instagram.
October 7 Ban on Instagram – As Kanye posts a series of screenshots of his DMs with Diddy on Instagram, Instagram restricts the use of his account because its content promotes discrimination against Jewish people.
October 9: Ban on Twitter – Kanye returns to Twitter for the first time in nearly two years after having his Instagram account restricted. Elon Musk, who is moving forward with plans to buy Twitter, says, “Welcome back to Twitter, my friend!” Kanye’s account was quickly locked after a tweet from the ADL (Anti-Defamation League), the largest Jewish organization in the U.S., criticized the tweet as “problematic, dangerous, and anti-Semitic.
October 11: Interview footage is leaked – Vice obtains and leaks footage from an interview with Tucker Carlson that Fox News has deemed unbroadcastable and has been withheld from Fox News. In it, Kanye talks about conspiracy theories believed by those with anti-Semitic beliefs.
October 5 Interview Cancelled – “The Shop” conducts an interview with Kanye, but cancels the broadcast after Kanye repeats “hate speech and dangerous stereotypes”.
October 14 – Hate on Holocaust Museum – “Words matter and words have consequences. Please visit the Holocaust Museum in LA to understand how words can cause horrific violence and genocide. “The LA Holocaust Museum, which invited Kanye to visit, reveals that it has received many “hate, threats and abusive comments” on social media after this comment.
October 15 – Spreads a hoax against George Floyd – In “Drink Champs,” George Floyd, who helped dramatize the Black Lives Matter movement, says that his death was not caused by a police officer squeezing his neck for nine minutes, but by drugs (*). Drink Champs” later removed the episode and apologized. Floyd’s family then demanded that Kanye not talk about Floyd. It was also reported that he plans to sue for approximately $37 billion for spreading falsehoods.
*The County Coroner’s Office has ruled that Mr. Floyd’s death was not an overdose, but murder by cardiopulmonary arrest. A medical expert who appeared at the subsequent trial also testified that the cause of Mr. Floyd’s death was lack of oxygen due to his knees being placed on his neck.
October 17: Ice Cube makes a puzzling comment – Rapper Ice Cube, who was named by Kanye as an “anti-Semitic influence,” denies it, saying, “I don’t know the truth of the statement,” and adding, “I don’t know what he meant by that. Please don’t mention my name in any anti-Semitic talk. I am not and never have been an anti-Semite,” he tweeted.
October 17 Parler Acquisition – Conservative social media site Parler announces that Kanye is buying the app.
Oct. 17 Heated Discussion with Chris Cuomo – Appearing on Chris Cuomo’s show, Kanye says that the top music labels are controlled by Jews. Cuomo strongly disagrees with the reference to an “underground Jewish mafia organization that controls the media. Cuomo strongly disagreed, saying, “Look, there is no Jewish media, no Jewish cabal, no Jewish mafia. That’s a figment of your imagination or a projection of your prejudices. You may have had a bad deal with someone (on a music label), but that’s just them,” and accused them of targeting it as all Jewish people do, “and they may target others as well.”
October 17 Reaction from the Trump campaign – Rolling Stone reports that former U.S. President Donald Trump has told several people that Kanye’s recent words and actions are too “crazy” and that he needs “help”.
October 19 – Appears again on Long Interview – Piers Morgan’s show. Says of his ex-wife Kim, “I will love her for the rest of my life. Strangely enough, I will protect her”. When asked if he “regrets” his discriminatory remarks against people of Jewish descent, he said that he does not and said, “I will say I am sorry to anyone I have hurt.” She also claimed that Quentin Tarantino’s film “Django Untethered” was her idea.
October 21 Balenciaga severs ties – Balenciaga announces in a statement that “Balenciaga has no relationship with this artist and has no plans to work with him on any future projects.
October 22 – White Supremacist Rally Mentions Kanye, Draws Criticism from Celebrities – At a white supremacist rally in Los Angeles, a banner reads, “Kanye’s opinion on Jews is right. In response, top celebrities such as Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Orlando Bloom, and Billy Irish responded in droves. Even ex-wife Kim Kardashian issued a statement calling for an immediate end to the terrible violence and hateful remarks.
October 24 – Music Views Decline Sharply – Luminate reports that sales and views of Kanye’s work are down in the U.S. across all categories, including physical and digital, as well as on-demand streaming. Album sales are down 23% (compared to the previous week ending October 20) and radio plays are down 13%, with some stations, including KIIS-FM in Los Angeles, receiving zero plays last week.
October 24: A wave of contract terminations begins, including agents – Kanye’s agent, CAA, announces the termination of his contract. Camille Vazquez, who handled Johnny Depp’s defamation trial, is also reportedly stepping down as Kanye’s attorney.
October 25 Curtain closes on Adidas Yeezy – Adidas releases a statement saying, “We have made the decision to end our partnership immediately, discontinue production of Yeezy branded products, and cease all payments to Ye and his companies,” and Yeezy Gear.
October 25 Yeezy GAP merchandise to be removed – Gap, which had announced in September that it was ending its partnership with Kanye, also announced that “recent statements and actions (by Kanye) further highlight the reasons (for ending the partnership),” and that it will remove Yeezy Announced that Gap merchandise would be removed immediately. yeezygap.com was also shut down.
October 25 – No Longer a “Billionaire” – Following the dissolution of his partnership with Adidas, the U.S. business publication Forbes removes Kanye from its list of billionaires. Forbes said that Adidas Yeezy accounted for a large portion of Kanye’s assets.
October 25 Pro Athletes Leave Kanye’s Company – Aaron Donald, an active NFL player, and Jaylen Brown, an active NBA player, who were part of Donda Sports, a sports agent company started by Kanye, announced their departure from the company. Donald said on Instagram that “recent hateful and anti-Semitic statements and expressions” were “the exact opposite of their views on life and ideology in parenting.”
October 25 – Anti-Semitic Claims Again in Interview – Appeared in an interview with Rex Friedman. He spoke of unsubstantiated claims against abortion and prejudice against people of Jewish descent, and was asked by Friedman to “criticize the individual” if he actually had a bad experience, rather than blaming it on the Jewish community as a whole.
October 26 Donda Academy Cancelled – The basketball team from Donda Academy, a private, unaccredited Christian school founded by Kanye, is canceled from competing in a tournament. The school’s response is criticized by many, who say that the children are not at fault.
October 26th – Rush visit to Sketchers – An unannounced visit to Skechers, the third largest sneaker company in the U.S., where he was kicked out after speaking with an executive. Kanye was kicked out after speaking with executives. Sketchers, whose founder is Jewish, later said, “Sketchers has no intention of working with Kanye, nor does it intend to. We condemn his recent statements that divide society and will not tolerate anti-Semitism or any other form of hate speech,” the company said in a statement.
October 26 Footlocker – Made an unannounced visit to Skechers, the third largest sneaker company in the US. Kanye was kicked out after speaking with executives. Skechers, whose founder is Jewish, later stated, “Skechers has no intention of working with Kanye, nor does it intend to. We condemn his recent statements that divide society and do not condone anti-Semitism or any other form of hate speech,” the company said in a statement.
October 27: Brands continue to pull away from Kanye – Following Footlocker’s announcement the day before, TJ Maxx announces that it will no longer carry Kanye’s products. Apple withdrew Kanye’s Essentials playlist, and Madame Tussauds in the U.K. removed Kanye’s wax doll from its exhibit. Peloton, a home exercise bike company, announces that it will no longer use Kanye’s music in its classes.
October 27 Admiration for Hitler – Several sources interviewed by CNN testify that Kanye has long had a kind of admiration for Hitler and the Nazis.
Kanye West and “Bipolar Disorder”
Kanye West, now 45, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was 39 years old. Kanye, who was on his Saint Pablo tour at the time, was involuntarily hospitalized by a psychiatrist after repeatedly saying and doing things that worried those around him. Kris Jenner, mother of Kim Kardashian, who was his wife at the time, said that Kanye’s condition was “just fatigue,” but Kanye himself later admitted that he had been hospitalized for a long time at a psychiatric institution.
Bipolar disorder is described as a recurring illness of “high tension and active mania and depression and lethargy,” and it is estimated that one in 100 people in Japan is living with bipolar disorder. The National Alliance of Mental Illness Families (NAMI) lists the signs of bipolar disorder as hallucinations, delusions, rapid mood swings and irritability, unpredictable behavior, and unusually risky decisions, explaining that “most people in a manic state are unaware of the negative consequences of their behavior.
Kanye himself explained on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in 2018 that “some people with bipolar disorder have episodes (attacks/onsets) where they feel depressed, but I get high,” he said. And in “David Letterman: Today’s Guest is a Big Star” in 2019, he said, “When I’m in this state, I become super suspicious of everything and everyone. This is just my experience, and I’m sure some people have other experiences, but (when I’m in this state) everyone is an actor and everything seems like a conspiracy. Everything seems to be visible. I think the government has implanted a chip in my head and I feel like I am being filmed,” he revealed, “I feel like everyone wants to kill me and I can’t trust anyone.
Kim Kardashian, who was married to Kanye from 2014 to 2022, mentioned Kanye’s bipolar disorder on Instagram in 2020, stating, “Anyone who is in this situation or has a loved one who is, you understand how complicated and painful it is.” He defended Kanye as a “brilliant but complex person” who is easily misunderstood because “sometimes words and intentions don’t match.”
Are Kanye’s statements true? Is it because of his mental health?
Kanye admits that when his bipolar symptoms are severe, he has different thoughts and feelings than when he is calm. Therefore, when Kanye has repeatedly said or done things that are considered “bizarre,” it has been generously interpreted as “because of his mental health issues. Kim Kardashian has also called for “leniency” from the public, saying on Instagram in the past, “I’m saying that society as a whole should be lenient with mental health issues, but at the same time, we should be lenient with people who are living with them when they need it the most.
On the other hand, Kanye himself continues to complain about it. In “David Letterman: Today’s Guest is a Big Star,” he explained, “When I say things that they don’t want me to say as a celebrity, they say, ‘He’s just crazy. And in the podcast program “Drink Champs,” he added, “Whenever I want to say that they are wrong about something, hiding the truth, or lying, I say, ‘Ye is crazy. It’s the very ultimate last trump card to not be heard,” he claimed.
Incidentally, Kanye admitted on Letterman’s show that he has to take his medication every day to stay in a constant state, or he will become so agitated that he needs to be hospitalized, and his “abnormal state” will begin, but he has stated that he is not taking his medication as of 2018 and 2019. However, he has stated that he has not been taking the medication as of 2018 and 2019 (his current condition is unknown).
This seems to be based on the idea that “if you take drugs, you are not your true self,” and in 2019, his then-wife Kim said, “For him, taking drugs is not an option because it would change who he is,” he explained to U.S. Vogue explained. Kim also revealed on Instagram the difficulty of treatment without his consent, saying, “I know that family is powerless (in terms of giving help) unless the other person is a minor,” and “no matter how hard family and friends try, the person must be involved in the process of getting help.
Kanye, for his part, tweeted in 2018, “There is no way I can write a song on the level of ‘Watch the Throne’ or ‘Dark Fantasy’ with the medication I’m taking.” On Letterman’s show, he clearly stated that he was “not advocating” not taking drugs, and that “if you want crazy ideas, crazy stages, crazy music, crazy ideas, it could come from crazy people.” He said.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and Families (NAMI) list medication and psychotherapy as treatments for bipolar disorder, and on “David Letterman: Today’s Guest is a Big Star,” the host said of Kanye’s statement, “I think it offends the medical profession. I’ve refused to take medication myself for years. ‘This is who I am, and this is how far I’ve come because of who I am. Then why ruin it with drugs? But when I actually took the medication, I realized that, on the contrary, the obstacles in my creative process had disappeared (thanks to the medication),” she revealed of her own experience.
In the celebrity world, Selena Gomez, Mariah Carey, Mel Gibson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Demi Lovato, and Bebe Lexa have all come out publicly as bipolar. Selena, who has been leading many mental health conversations lately, says, “I have found that there are ways to seek help and find people I can trust. I started taking the right medications and my life completely changed.” she told WSJ Magazine in 2020.
Only two things are clear in this latest case
Kanye West has a complicated mental health situation, but in the recent case, only two things are clear.
The first is that whether or not Kanye’s recent comments are due to his deteriorating mental health, racist remarks will not be tolerated. His ex-wife Kim, who in the past has wished for a “lenient” response, has now publicly criticized Kanye’s words and actions, saying, “Hate speech is never acceptable and there is no excuse for it.
Second, we should not bother to give a “speech” to someone who may have mental health issues when he is repeating hate speech. Trevor Noah, the TV host who allegedly “beefed” with Kanye, said, “I don’t beef with people who publicly say they have mental health issues,” adding, “What I want to beef about is that I want to help [Kanye, who has mental health issues]. I want to beef with a society that doesn’t say, ‘Now is not the time to put a microphone in front of him so he can say whatever he wants,’ to help [Kanye, who has mental health issues],” he said on his show.
The Shop’s recent decision to “not air” Kanye’s interview, saying that “hate speech should never have an audience,” is also worthy of praise. LeBron James and businessman Maverick Carter’s show “The Shop” recorded a talk show with Kanye that had been planned for several weeks, but the show was cancelled after Kanye repeatedly made racist claims on the show. Maverick explained the reason for his decision to Andscape.
“I spoke with Kanye directly the day before the recording and determined that he was ready to have a dignified discussion and explain his recent remarks. Unfortunately, he used ‘The Shop’ as a place to repeat further hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes. The Shop is open to deeply considered debate and differing opinions. On the other hand, we do not tolerate hate speech of any kind. We will never allow our channel to be used to promote hate. This time it was my fault for believing that Kanye wanted a different conversation, and I apologize to our guests and crew. Hate speech should never have an audience.”
Drink Champs, the podcast show that conducted the long interview with Kanye, trumpeted the falsehood that George Floyd, who dramatized the Black Lives Matter movement by being killed by a white police officer in 2020, was killed by drugs rather than being choked by a police officer We released the video, but later apologized, saying in a statement, “We do not want to spread false narratives on our platform,” and apologizing to Mr. Floyd’s family and those who were hurt by the episode. The broadcast episode was removed.
In October, Kanye was greeted favorably by the right after he began criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement and making racist remarks about Jewish people.
On a weekend in mid-October, a group of white supremacists were seen holding a banner that read “Kanye’s opinion on Jews is right” while making a Nazi salute. In addition, Candace Owens, who is known to be pro-Trump and spread many conspiracy theories, approached Kanye. It was announced on October 17 that Kanye would buy Parler, a social media app used by conservatives, which is said to be a business “failure” due to a drop in downloads. Candace’s husband, George Farmer, is the CEO of the business. Some have criticized the app, saying that it takes advantage of Kanye’s poor mental health.
As the uproar spread around Kanye, his agent, lawyer, and partner Adidas have terminated their contracts, and NFL player Aaron Donald and NBA player Jaylen Brown have announced that they are leaving Donda Sports, the sports agent company Kanye started up. In the past, Kanye’s eccentric behavior had been tolerated as “Kanye-like,” but he has crossed the line into racism, which has led to the departure of many people involved.
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