Kanye West's comments have been making headlines over the past few days, but there may be something more going on than what's at the surface.
Kanye took to Twitter over the Fourth of July weekend to announce his candidacy for president in 2020. Of course, it's too late for Kanye to get into the race. He also lacks political experience. That didn't stop people from jumping on the Kanye 2020 train, publicly vowing to vote for Yeezy.
His controversial comments only grew with a recently published Forbes interview. In the interview, Kanye declares he'll run under the "Birthday Party." He slams his previous affiliation with President Trump but also pokes holes in Joe Biden's strategy moving forward.
Kanye also spews some opinions that are, frankly, unsettling in the interview. He claims that he had COVID-19 in February, for example, but later slams the idea of a vaccine. He also slams Planned Parenthood and a woman's right to choose. The latter came to a head on Wednesday, when he tweeted, then deleted photos of a 6-month-old fetus, writing, "These souls deserve to live."
It's easy to disregard Kanye as another celebrity off the rails, but those closest to him believe more is at play. They believe that Kanye is experiencing a serious bipolar episode. He has publicly admitted he does not take medication to treat his bipolar disorder.
Everyone has an opinion on Kanye's mental illness. Many fans believe that Kanye needs help. While they appreciate his artistry, they cannot defend his behavior. Those in the mental health community are also concerned that Kanye's erratic behavior is reinforcing stereotypes about bipolar disorder.
TMZ is reporting that sources close to Kanye West say he's experiencing a serious bipolar episode. The reporting indicates that Kanye usually experiences one of these serious episodes once a year. Family and friends are concerned about how damaging the statements he's making during this time are.
Kanye was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2017 after an involuntary psychiatric hold in 2016. He described that experience during a discussion about his experience being bipolar in conversation with David Letterman on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.
"They have this moment where they put you, they handcuff you, they drug you, they put you on the bed, and they separate you from everyone you know," he said. He explained that while that moment was difficult to experience, he hoped to bring more humanity to the mental health experience as a result.
"That's something that I am so happy that I experienced myself so I can start by changing that moment."
In the same interview, Kanye describes what it feels like to be in the midst of a manic episode.
"You have this moment [where] you feel everyone wants to kill you. You pretty much don't trust anyone," he said.
"When you're in this state, you're hyper-paranoid about everything, everyone. This is my experience, other people have different experiences. Everyone now is an actor. Everything's a conspiracy. You feel the government is putting chips in your head. You feel you're being recorded. You feel all these things."
"If you don't take medication every day to keep you at a certain state, you have a potential to ramp up and it can take you to a point where you can even end up in the hospital. And you start acting erratic, as TMZ would put it," he said.
In that interview, Kanye also said while he believes medication works for some, he doesn't feel he is among them.
In a Vogue interview the previous month, Kim explained that Kanye didn't feel comfortable being medicated.
"For him, being on medication is not really an option, because it just changes who he is," she acknowledged.
"Traveling a lot does set it off, so he doesn't travel as much as he used to. But honestly, I never want to speak for him, because I am not in his mind. But I think some of the hurtful things that I read online … What is she doing? She's not stopping him. … Like it's my fault if he does or says something that they don't agree with?"
"That's my husband. I share every opinion that I have and let him know when I think something's wrong. Or if it comes to him being in the middle of a bipolar episode, I'll do everything to be supportive and help to calm the situation."
Kanye has previously expressed concerns that his medication stifles his creativity. It's a dangerous misconception that's been romanticized in the discussion of artists with mental illness that dates back to Van Gogh.
It puts Kanye's loved ones in a difficult predicament. As Kim notes in the Vogue interview, "We can definitely feel episodes coming, and we know how to handle them." That doesn't mean that they can force Kanye to handle it in a publicly palatable way, or make him take his medications.
Kanye has been said to pursue alternative treatments outside of medicine in handling his mental health. It's unclear if he's consistently keeping up with these forms of treatment, but what is clear is that he's continuing to struggle. In noting that something is clearly off with the artist, a larger conversation about mental health and media has arisen.
Many have said that it was irresponsible of TMZ to give Kanye a platform during his meltdown years ago. Similarly, they feel it was irresponsible for Forbes to publish his incoherent rantings. If he is clearly unwell, profiting off that is exploitative and dangerous for those who are harmed by the comments he makes during these times.
Aside from being irresponsible, many believe it's part of a bigger societal issue with how we perceive the mentally ill.
"I'm sick and tired of everyone treating his eccentric nonsense as a joke. It's disgusting. Either we're laughing at a mentally ill person who probably suffers from very real delusions or we're pretending this is all for entertainment," a Reddit user shared.
"Just because someone is an entertainer doesn't mean their entire life is for our amusement, and when we give any kind of platform and tweet, retweet, laugh, joke, or desire more of this behavior, we're making someone's mental illness our entertainment or acting like it's actually meaningful when in fact, it's sad, gross, and pitiable."
"I am a current medical student and have worked in a psych ward and come across Bipolar patients in the wards. This current state is an extermely serious manic phase that he's working/worked himself up in. He's already been hospitalized once due to his manic state 2 years ago. The sad part is the media is only giving him a platform to speak and subsequently bash him for his antics. And to quote Kanye again, 'A sprained brain is like a sprained ankle. You don't keep pushing at it.' I feel the media is only making this situation worse," another person wrote.
“What breaks my heart is to see him in a state like this, where he can potentially hurt himself and people need to realize he needs serious help instead of bashing him. It’s his friends and families responsibilities the most to take care of him at this time. Make sure he gets his meds and stay away from the spotlight. His manic phases only seem to be getting worse and it reminds me of Van Gogh (another brilliant artist with BP) state of mania towards the end of his life right before he committed suicide.”
“At this point if it means to retire completely. Stay away from the spotlight and stop making music. I would be ok with that. Despite all the [expletive] he’s spewed out I still love Ye and the last thing I would want is to see someone like that who’s affected my life on such a personal level to get hurt or worse.”
As far as Kim's responsibilities here, many have criticized her for retweeting his presidential bid tweet. If this is a bipolar episode, they believe Kim shouldn't encourage dangerous manic behavior.
In another Reddit discussion on the matter, some who have spouses living with bipolar have noted that challenging these behaviors amid an attack can cause things to ramp up further. These individuals have expressed that the behaviors can't be corrected until someone has settled into a more rational state.
The idea that the Kardashian machine should save Kanye from himself neglects the fact that he's an adult who is responsible for learning how to manage his own mental health. Kim and other family members can offer him everything in the world, but they cannot force him to accept that help. Kanye ultimately needs to come up with a course of treatment that he will stick to, because consistency is important in any mental health treatment.
That said, when things are under control and Kanye is well, it's important to let him speak on his experiences. The things he has said about his experience with bipolar in his state of clarity have shed light on the condition for many who have no knowledge of it. Only amplifying his voice in times where he's widely believed to be manic can reinforce dangerous stereotypes about what it is to be bipolar.
If for no other reason, we should watch the way we talk about Kanye being bipolar for the many who live with the illness. No celebrity or public figure is beyond accountability and reproach. There is more at stake here than erratic words and actions, both for Kanye and the people whom his words and actions affect.
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
