As mental illness becomes more understood and accepted, there comes a point when racism is just racism and the two can not coexist even if you’re a rap star.
Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, has been publicly battling with bipolar disorder since 2016, according to a Feb. 25 The Cut article, the pop culture website of New York Magazine.
Recently he worked his way from wearing “Make America Great Again” hats to wearing a “white lives matter shirt” at his Paris 2022 fashion show beside Candace Owens, a well-known republican with far-right views. Currently, West has made openly sickening antisemitic comments towards the Jewish community.
Having friends who are a part of the Jewish community and being a fan of Ye is very disappointing to see and hear, especially in 2022.
San Jose State psychology professor Dr. Gregory Feist, who focuses on Personality and Adult Development, said creativity and mental illness can play a role, but can only go so far.
Dr. Feist said that he is not a clinical psychologist, but has researched the connection between
“creative activities” and hypomania, which is the less extreme form of mania in Bipolar disorder, where your mood shifts from a depressive episode to a more heightened mood of euphoria, joy, energy or unusual irritability, according to the Mayo Clinic, an American academic medical center,
“Hypomania and creativity both involve having lots of ideas very fast and milder forms of Bipolar illness are sometimes found in creative writers, musicians and artists,” said Feist. “But creativity then also involves a more deliberative process of selecting and editing the bad from the good ideas.”
Shortly after Ye’s antisemitic outbursts about going “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE” in a now deleted Twitter post, he also stated he could not be racist because he is Black.
This led to a banner being hung over Interstate 405 in Los Angeles stating “Kanye is right” as far-right protesters performed the Nazi salute and shortly led to his multi-million partnerships to come to an end, according to an Oct. 24 NBC News article
“It may have more to do with his creativity than his racist and intolerant outbursts. In fact, there is no real connection between mental illness and Bipolar in particular, and racism,” Feist said. “So that does not explain his antisemitic slurs . . . mental illness or other mitigating circumstances may partially explain [Ye’s behavior], but never excuse acts of hate.”
Even though society tries to stay compassionate towards those who suffer from mental illness, only so much can be done before a person's relationships are negatively affected.
Companies like Adidas, Gap, and Balenciaga, have all cut ties with Ye because of his recent racist comments according to a March 19, 2021 CBS News article.
San Jose State alumna Samantha Sirico, is a part of the Jewish community, said she has “never wanted to give” West money before his racist awakening.
“I honestly don’t really shop any of these brands but it wouldn’t stop me . . . I never bought Yeezys before anyway because I never wanted to give Kanye more money even before all of this happened,” Sirico said.
Even though Sirico said her shopping would not be affected, she is more bothered about his recent runway debut.
“I feel like he’s said way worse things before this! I’m Jewish and could honestly care less what he said. I’m more upset about the ‘White Lives Matter’ shirts than his antisemitic remarks,” Sirico said.
In an ironic turn of events, Ye’s “White Lives Matter” shirts are owned by two Black men, who trademarked the slogan after the original owner of the phrase gave it to them to make sure “other people didn’t get rich off of that pain,” according to a Monday Rolling Stone article.
Even though Ye’s mental illness is well-known, Sirico said she doesn't feel like it is an excuse for the horrendous things he has said.
“He’s well enough to go play shows at churches and run for president but isn’t well enough to not say stupid shit? Not an excuse. He hasn’t been well for a while but these recent bad outbursts aren’t new,” Sirico said.
Sirico is not the only one who feels like Ye’s mental illness is not an excuse to target a group of people as a fan of his work, there comes a point where he must be held accountable.
Dealing with depression and addiction, which happen to be some symptoms that can be associated with Bipolar disorder, do not excuse what I have done in the past.
As Ye continues to act out this way, he will and must deal with the consequences of his words and actions.
In modern society, it is not acceptable for Ye to use his mental health as an excuse for the way he acts towards anyone and publicly speak the way he does.
As Ye continues to go down his destructive path, refusing help or speaking out of turn, it will end in losing more deals and fans as I am ready to stop listening to him.
