It can be difficult to find a ‘serious’ article about the Kardashian family on frontline news. Upon googling Kim’s name it seems all the focus, as reported by the MailOnline, is on whatever she is wearing. Or, alternatively, one can turn their attention to the plethora of articles on the Balenciaga scandal, in which journalists focused on the Kardashian’s involvement as a brand ambassador — conveniently taking some of the heat away from the actual fashion brand itself. Some may roll their eyes at the repeated ‘news that isn’t news’; others may start to feel sorry for the subjects who probably just want to dress how they like without getting publicly blasted. When situated in the public eye like this, it can be hard for people to view you as a regular person trying to go about your everyday life, or to have empathy for a serious situation when it comes up, even when you’re on the side that hasn’t done anything wrong — as seen clearly between Kim and her ex-husband Kanye West.
Kanye — or Ye, as he is legally known as of October 2021 — is considered one of the best-selling male artists of all time. Yet, his career has been riddled with scandals and controversy; many websites have their own extensive list of his worst moments spanning over the last decade, and it’s easy to understand why he’s come under fire for many of them. Tame examples include joking about Queen Elizabeth’s death, jealous remarks over Pete Davidson and ranting about a porn addiction — but worse remarks have involved accusing his ex-wife of kidnapping their kids, defending famous sex offenders, and recent anti-Semitic comments (Stephanou, 2022). Some of the rumours surrounding the rapper have turned out to be ridiculous, such as cheating allegations with beauty YouTuber Jeffree Star, but, unfortunately, many of them come from hard evidence, and as such most of the world seems to have turned against Ye.
There is much debate over how much of his behaviour can be attributed to mental illness versus genuine political beliefs. Does he really believe the direct comparisons he makes between himself and Jesus? Does he genuinely think slavery was a ‘choice’? Kanye has also been a long-term supporter of Trump and traditional Republican ideologies such as the pro-life movement; but when he announced he would be running for president himself in 2020, nobody could take him seriously. It steadily got worse and worse, with the most recent shocking comment coming from an interview in which Kanye stated “I see good things about Hitler… we are gonna stop dissing the Nazis” (Stephanou, 2022). Nobody truly knows whether he is making these outrageously offensive remarks to stay relevant online (even if for negative reasons), if it’s because he simply has no filter, or if he’s suffering from a declining mental state.
In any case, his now ex-wife had clearly had enough. His marriage to Kim lasted seven years before the reality star filed for divorce in February 2021; they now share custody of their four kids, with Kim housing them 80% of the time and Kanye providing $200k a month in child support. But Kim recently admitted on a podcast that “co-parenting is hard… it’s really fucking hard.” (Real, 2022) As any mother should, she only wants the best family dynamics for her kids, influenced by a close relationship with her own late father Robert Kardashian. Her children are all under 10 — likely too young to fathom why their parents’ relationship is so strained; why their father’s reputation has shattered. So they’re currently shielded from the reality of Kanye’s very public outbursts. Kim explained on the podcast that she will be prepared to talk to them about it privately when they ask — a very different approach to Kanye’s tactics of sharing intimate details over social media.
Let us assume some of Kanye’s behaviour can be blamed on his mental state; mental illness can be difficult enough to navigate in a private relationship, but when you’re two of the most influential celebrities in the world, there is added strain. The world watched with horror yet mild fascination each time Kanye appeared to break down due to his bipolar disorder — in 2020, shortly after announcing his running for president, he left a rally in South Carolina in floods of tears and posted a series of incriminating tweets about sex offenders and his family (Weinberger Law Group, n.d.). Kim has been a defender of his behaviour for years; blaming his reluctance to take medication and her inability to intervene. How could one be expected to bash a loved one regardless if there are impressionable kids in the picture? During this particular episode, Kim expressed online that “[Kanye] is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artist and a black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother… has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bi-polar disorder”.
Though, it is important not to dismiss the severity of the comments Kanye has made. As an adult with access to high-profile online platforms, with the influence that he has as a celebrity, he must take some responsibility — while his mental state may be unstable, for years now he has promoted hateful speech that is difficult to forgive. His remarks have also directly influenced his supporters as antisemitic demonstrations have spread across LA, driven by a banner declaring ‘Kanye was right’ (Romano, 2022). The artist is adding fire to an already red-hot unstable nation, so easily influenced by the opinions of equally unstable public figures. If Ye can walk out the house wearing a White Lives Matter shirt because it’s “funny”, if he can continuously promote death threats over Pete Davidson, if Twitter feels the time is right to suspend him for posting an image of a Nazi swastika inside the Star of David (Romano, 2022), and if his ex-wife, his biggest supporter, can finally decide she’s had enough — he should be held accountable for his decisions.
References
Real, E. (2022). ‘Kim Kardashian cries over co-parenting with Kanye West: It’s f—king hard’’, Page Six [online]. Available at: https://pagesix.com/2022/12/26/kim-kardashian-cries-over-hard-co-parenting-with-kanye-west/amp/ (Accessed 27/12/22).
Romano, A. (2022). ‘Kanye West’s antisemitic spiral, explained’, Vox [online]. Available at: https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/culture/23400851/kanye-west-antisemitism-hitler-praise (Accessed 27/12/22).
Stephanou, A. (2022). ‘Kanye West — A List of Controversies & Crazy Moments’, Tell Tales [online]. 28 January. Available at: https://www.telltalesonline.com/20774/kanye-west-controversial-moments/ (Accessed 27/12/22).
Weinberger Law Group, n.d. ‘Mental Illness and Divorce: Kim and Kanye’, Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group [online]. Available at: https://www.weinbergerlawgroup.com/blog/divorce-family-law/mental-illness-and-divorce-kim-and-kanye/amp/ (Accessed 27/12/22).