There are many times when we’ve laughed at Kanye West. When he tweeted earlier this year that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg should donate $1billion to him because he was $53million in debt, for instance. ‘Mark Zuckerberg invest 1 billion dollars into Kanye West ideas… after realizing he is the greatest living artist and greatest artist of all time,’ he wrote. That was funny – in an absurd way.
Similarly, that time in February 2013, when he told an audience in Paris: ‘I am Picasso. I am Michelangelo. I am Basquiat. I am Walt Disney. I am Steve Jobs’. It was sort of hilarious. And let’s not forget the American Music Awards moment in 2004, when he stormed out after losing the Best New Artist award to Gretchen Wilson. ‘I felt like I was definitely robbed,’ he later told reporters, ‘and I refused to give any politically correct bullsXXTass comment ... I was the best new artist this year.’
Yes, Kanye West has invited us to have a chuckle on him every now and again. But what’s happened to him recently is no laughing matter.
On Monday it was reported that Kanye was rushed to the UCLA Medical Centre after allegedly suffering a breakdown. As TMZ wrote, Kanye’s doctor had told police he was suffering from ‘a temporary psychosis brought on by sleep deprivation and extreme dehydration’. Later reports suggest the situation was actually far worse: the same website revealed that Kanye’s medical problems were such that his insurance company will cover the financial losses for the 21 concerts he’s had to forego as a result of them. Put simply, it appears Kanye is not ok.
Whilst there is very little good to be found in any instance of a mental breakdown – if indeed that is what Kanye is suffering from, nothing has been confirmed – in this instance, there appears to be a silver lining. And that’s this: the world’s reaction. Celebrities, fans and indeed the media have come out en mass to declare support for the rapper, highlighting that now is not the time to laugh, and what he needs most is understanding.
Lady Gaga, for instance, tweeted this on Wednesday: ‘It’s not funny to joke about anyone’s possible or not possible mental illness, this is a sensitive time for many. Let's be kind & loving.’ And just after that: ‘While I don't agree with everything he does I hope the public shows compassion and for @kanyewest and each other. One love. One Race.’
Actor Emile Hirsch also took to Twitter to show support, tweeting: ‘Hey @kanyewest get better man! People are making jokes right now, but having been there myself, I hope he gets the help he needs.’
(Yahoo!)[https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/heres-why-those-kanye-west-jokes-are-so-harmful-140050549.html] wrote an article entitled: ‘Here’s Why Those Kanye West Jokes Are So Harmful’, whilst The Independent published a piece condemning racist attitudes to Kanye’s mental health.
What these reactions suggest is that mental health is actually being taken seriously. Jokes are blasted, and the severity of the issue is being addressed. This indicates there has been a turning point in our perception of mental health. That when a person is hospitalised for psychological problems, it’s no longer acceptable to label them ‘crazy’ or ‘mad’. Like any unwell person, they are now being seen as not only worthy of medical assistance, but crucially, sympathy too.
No one can argue that Kanye hasn’t had a tough few months. The horrifying instance of his wife, Kim Kardashian, being the victim of that burglary in Paris – one that left her gagged in a bath fearing for her life – would have been a horrendous experience for a husband to endure, not least since he wasn’t there to protect her. Add that to rumours of financial troubles, and the pressures that stars such as Kanye put on themselves to be successful, and it seems entirely possible to see where the beginnings of any reported breakdown might have stemmed.
But because Kanye is a celebrity there is also the temptation not to view his problems as being ‘real’ problems. To see them instead as instances of him performing for our entertainment. After all, if he allowed us access to his wedding proposal – one of the most private moments between two people, made public when he allowed it to be filmed for an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians – why should him being hospitalised (a moment equally as private) be any different?
For someone who invites so many strangers into their life on a regular basis, it’s hard to expect them to know when to turn off. But thankfully, that appears to be the mood here. The public have got the message, it’s time to leave him alone.
This is most encouraging. And ironic too, that a supposed mental breakdown should inspire such a sane reaction on a global scale. Long may this response to such a serious issue last.