Kanye West is the focus of a new BBC Two documentary this week, entitled The Trouble with Kanye – and I’m surprised they can fit his scandals into 75 minutes.
Frankly, the 46-year-old rapper has squeezed more controversy into the past 10 years than most people manage in a life time. He’s been banned from Twitter, been embroiled in many public feuds, and now spouts far-right dogma.
He’s come a very long way since his marriage to Kim Kardashian catapulted him into the showbiz world of magazines, red carpet events, and reality TV…
So what are the most crazy and outrageous things Kanye West – now known as Ye – has said and done? Here’s our unlucky list of 13 that have provoked the most backlash.
Kanye West scandals: He splits from Kim Kardashian
Kanye West is undoubtedly one of America’s most celebrated artists. Songs including Jesus Walks, Power, Runaway, and Stronger are all considered recent classics. But it still came as a shock to many when he wed reality TV star Kim Kardashian in 2014. Thus becoming one half of the most famous couple on the planet.
Critics didn’t believe it would last – and, of course, it didn’t. After six years, reports surfaced that the famous pair were splitting. And that’s where things started going very wrong for Kanye.
The nation took sides, and Kanye didn’t do well when their devotees were divvied up. But it’s hardly surprising, his behaviour leading up the split had already begun to ring alarm bells with the Kardashian fanbase.
After the split, Kanye did himself no favours either. Kanye encouraged his fans to harass Pete Davidson, who was dating Kim at the time. In a rare statement, Kim called out Kanye’s “constant attacks on me in interviews and on social media”.
She wrote that his “obsession with trying to control and manipulate our situation so negatively and publicly is only causing further pain for all”.
Kanye ambushes Taylor Swift at MTV VMAs
The rapper’s strange behaviour towards singer Taylor Swift was one of the first instances where people began to ask “are you okay, Kanye?”
In 2009, Kanye ambushed Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Video of the Year at the 2009 MTV VMAs. When Taylor was awarded the moon man for Best Female Video for You Belong with Me, Kanye climbed the stairs to interrupt her acceptance speech.
He famously said: “Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’m [going to] let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!”
Shortly after, a stunned Taylor told reporters: “I was standing on stage and I was really excited because I’d just won the award and then I was really excited because Kanye West was on stage… And then I wasn’t excited anymore after that.”
Although he later apologised, his seemingly bullying behaviour towards Taylor didn’t stop there. In 2016, he released the song Famous, which made jabs at the female singer.
The lyrics included a dig at Taylor Swift, saying: “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that bitch famous.”
To me, it just looks like Kanye enjoys picking on girls. See reference to Lizzo, below.
Kanye West scandals: He changed his legal name
Singer Kanye West formally changed his name to Ye in 2021. A Los Angeles judge approved the request of the rapper to legally change his name from Kanye Omari West to just Ye, with no middle or last name.
The petition cited “personal reasons”. He previously announced the name change in 2018, writing on Twitter that he was “the being formally [sic] known as Kanye West. I am Ye”.
He later explained the change in a radio interview, saying: “I believe Ye is the most commonly used word in the Bible, and in the Bible it means you. So I’m you, I’m us, it’s us.”
Ye was the title of the studio album he released that same year. The music star had called himself Ye on his social media pages for years. While a name change isn’t the most controversial thing a singer can do, it’s considered eccentric.
Thirty years ago, singer-songwriter Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol on his 35th birthday. From then on people referred to him as “the artist formerly known as Prince”.
Rapper Kanye supports President Trump
The rapper met with Trump at Trump Tower in 2016 and said that he did so in order to discuss “multicultural issues”. But many of his peers weren’t happy with Kanye’s choice of ally.
Singer-songwriter John Legend, who has collaborated with Kanye in the past, slammed the union. Talking to French media outlet Clique, John said: “I don’t think it’s impossible to talk to Trump about issues, but I won’t be used as a publicity stunt. I think Kanye was a publicity stunt.
“I’m pretty disappointed with Kanye that he says he would have voted for Trump. I think Trump has been corrosive, his message has been corrosive to the country.”
He added: “I think the things he has promised to do have been very concerning for a lot of people, and for Kanye to support that message is very disappointing.”
Kanye and Trump spoke about “issues including bullying, supporting teachers, modernising curriculums, and violence in Chicago”, Kanye revealed in a tweet. Meanwhile, Donald Trump insisted he and the singer had been “friends for a long time”.
Kanye West scandals: Rapper runs for President of the US
While supporting Donald Trump isn’t exactly illegal (I’ll leave the law-breaking to him), Kanye’s next step proved even more shocking than “discussing life” with the US leader.
Kanye, who was once more popular than the Pope, announced he planned to run for President of the USA. The informal 2024 presidential campaign of Kanye West began in November 2022.
The rapper and entrepreneur confirmed that he was running in the 2024 presidential election while answering paparazzi questions. He also revealed that far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos and live streamer Sneako were working for his campaign.
The star, who has legally changed his name to Ye, posted a video of his campaign logo to social media, alongside the caption Ye 24. He also claimed to have asked Donald Trump to be his running mate.
Of course, Donald Trump is running himself. Kanye West previously ran for president in 2020, but his campaign flopped, attracting a meagre 70,000 votes.
He wears a White Lives Matter shirt
Kanye raised more than a few eyebrows when he attended Paris Fashion Week in 2022 in a shirt emblazoned with the controversial slogan White Lives Matter. The slogan has its roots in white supremacist movements.
Jaden Smith and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs were were among those who took serious issue with the stunt. Faced with criticism from his peers, Kanye responded by doubling down, writing in a post on Instagram that the Black Lives Matter movement was a “scam”.
Speaking after the stunt to Fox News, Kanye said: “I do certain things from a feeling. I just channel the energy. It just feels right. It’s using a gut instinct, connection with God and just brilliance – like [disgraced Olympic figure skater] Tonya Harding, how she did the triple flip or the triple spin. She was in so much practise that, when it was time for her to skate in a competitive format, it just happened…”
Nope, doesn’t make sense to me, either!
Kanye West scandals: Anti-semitic outbursts
Rapper Kanye West claimed his critics were being paid by a secret cabal of Jewish people, a common trope of anti-semitism. He also accused former friend Diddy of being controlled by Jewish people.
Appearing on Alex Jones’ podcast in 2022, Kanye denied the Holocaust ever happened, and said that “Hitler had a lot of redeeming qualities”.
During the disturbing interview, a masked Kanye said: “I like Hitler. I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis.”
In response to Kanye’s comments. many public figures began to speak out against his actions and wider cases of anti-semitism.
Jewish actor David Schwimmer posted on Instagram: “Whether or not Kanye West is mentally ill, there’s no question he is a bigot. His hate speech calls for violence against Jews. If you interpret his words any other way and defend him, guess what? You are racist.”
The Friends star continued: “If we don’t call someone as influential as Kanye out for his divisive, ignorant and anti-semitic words then we are complicit. Silence is complicity.”
Adidas cut ties with rapper Kanye West over anti-semitism
In October 2022, Kanye’s controversial outbursts started to catch up with him. No amount of celebrity can withstand this much controversy, and Kanye’s sponsorship deals started to fall away.
Clothing giant Adidas cut ties with rapper Ye, also known as Kanye West, saying it did “not tolerate anti-semitism and any other sort of hate speech”.
Adidas’s Yeezy brand collaboration with Mr West was put under review after he wore a White Lives Matter T-shirt design at Paris Fashion Week.
Days later, the rapper posted anti-semitic comments on his Twitter account. His Adidas products were pulled from sale with immediate effect.
Balenciaga also removed Kanye from their campaigns. A spokesperson said that it “no longer has any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist”.
Vogue also said that neither the publication or editor Anna Wintour had no intention of working with Kanye West again.
Kanye West scandals: Madame Tussauds removes his wax figure
London’s famous waxwork museum Madame Tussauds removed a wax figure of Kanye West from public view after his recent fall from grace.
The model of Mr West now lives in an archive at the museum. A spokesperson for Madame Tussauds London said the museum “listens” to the public about “what they expect to see”.
The figurine was originally launched in the museum in 2015 alongside a waxwork of his then-wife Kim Kardashian.
He was dropped by his talent agents CAA
Shortly after Kanye’s anti-Semitic comments on Twitter, he received more bad news. His talent agents CAA dropped him, too.
His record label’s parent company, Universal Music, put out a statement on Twitter saying “there is no place for anti-semitism in our society”.
A completed documentary was also shelved.
Kanye West scandals: Singer banned from Twitter
The rapper had both his Twitter and Instagram accounts locked following a series of anti-semitic posts. One of his comments said he would go “death con 3 on Jewish people”.
A spokesperson from Twitter said that “the account in question has been locked due to a violation of Twitter’s policies”.
Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, himself commented on the scandal. In response to a Twitter user asking Elon to “sort Kanye out”, he replied: “I tried my best.
“Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended.” Elon later said he banned Kanye for posting a tweet which included a swastika.
The star had his Instagram account suspended, too, after accusing rapper Diddy of being controlled by Jewish people. The message played into a long-standing anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.
Kanye slams Lizzo’s appearance
During a 2022 interview on Fox News, Kanye West took aim at his so-called friend Lizzo in a cruel attack on her looks. He commented on what he believed was the promotion of obesity by social media companies, calling it “demonic”.
Slamming the body-positive movement, he described those who champion Lizzo’s weight as “demonic” and, even more shockingly, threw in abortion too.
He compared it to the “genocide of the Black race”. Shocking? Don’t worry, while I’ll be damned if I support any man commenting on a woman’s appearance, Lizzo’s perfectly capable of defending herself.
At a gig in Toronto shortly after, Lizzo appeared to respond to Kanye’s comments by saying: “I’m minding my fat Black business.” She added: “I feel like everybody in America got my [bleeping] name in their [bleeping] mouth for no [bleeping] reason.”
Kanye West scandals: He spouts far right propaganda and describes slavery as “a choice”
As well as targeting the Jewish population, Kanye has also alienated black people, too. During the launch of his 2020 presidential campaign, he shocked a predominantly black crowd in North Charleston.
He claimed that famed abolitionist and activist Harriet Tubman, who had herself escaped from slavery, “never actually freed the slaves, she just had the slaves go work for other white people”.
He added: “When you hear slavery was there for 400 years, that’s a choice.”
Perhaps most shockingly of all, Kayne inserted himself into the George Floyd story. He claimed that George, who died at the hands of a Minnesota police officer, actually had taken the drug Fentanyl. He claimed that a police officer’s knee “wasn’t even on his neck like that”.
In response, the mother of Floyd’s daughter sued Kanye West for $250m.
The Trouble with Kanye on BBC Two
Award-winning journalist Mobeen Azhar investigates one of music’s most troubling stories – that of Kanye West’s decline. The one-off documentary unfolds against the backdrop of Ye’s recent behaviour and his rumoured 2024 presidential campaign.
Mobeen Azhar travels to the United States to discover how one of America’s most celebrated artists has been accused of spreading hate and division.
Tracing a line from earlier controversies in his career to this current moment, Mobeen speaks to Dr Marcus Hunter about the impact of some of Ye’s earlier statements, and explores the bigger picture – a surge of white nationalism and anti-semitism across America and the world.
He also meets those around Ye – from long-time musical collaborators to opportunistic hangers-on – and finds troubling evidence of media, corporations and extremists spinning hits, stories and money out of someone publicly struggling with bipolar disorder…
Specialists diagnosed Kanye West with bipolar disorder in 2016. This came after he was hospitalised for a psychiatric emergency.
Read more: John Legend slams Kanye West for his ‘publicity stunt’ with Trump
The Trouble with Kanye airs on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 at 9pm on BBC Two.
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