West hits out at “cruel and primitive” attitudes and treatment
Kanye West has spoken out about changing the perception and treatment of people suffering with mental health issues.
West will appear as a guest on an upcoming episode of David Letterman’s new talk show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. Due to air on Netflix at the end of the month (May 31), the show sees the rapper be very open and frank about his experiences – having previously been hospitalised “for his own health and safety” back in 2016, discussing his bipolar diagnosis, and spending much time since calling for “an end to the stigmatisation” that surrounds discussing mental health.
“This is a sprained brain, like having a sprained ankle,” Kanye tells Letterman in the new episode, as reported by Pitchfork.. “And if someone has a sprained ankle, you’re not gonna push on him more.
“With us, once our brain gets to a point of spraining, people do everything to make it worse. They do everything possible. They got us to that point, and then they do everything to make it worse.”
He also called out those who chose to misconstrue him as “crazy”.
“They love to write you off,” said West. “They love to cut your sentences off halfway. What you say doesn’t mean as much. Sometimes I think it’s a form of protection for me, because if I’m peeping something that people don’t want me to think about or know or say out loud as a celebrity, ‘Oh he’s just crazy.’ And then I go home. If they didn’t think I was crazy, it may be a problem.”
Coachella 2019 will host Kanye West’s Sunday Sessions.
West also opened up about his experiences of seeing psychiatrists in his own home and feeling “hyper-paranoid” before being taken to a hospital – and calling for a change to the way that people are treated in the US.
“You feel everyone wants to kill you, you pretty much don’t trust everyone, and they have this moment where they handcuff you, they drug you, they put you on the bed, and they separate you from everyone you know,” he said.
“That’s something that I’m so happy I experienced myself so I can start by changing that moment. When you are in that state, you have to have someone you trust. It is cruel and primitive to do that.”
West’s new Letterman interview also saw him discussing politics, arguing that “Liberals bully people who are Trump supporters”.
Last year, West took to Twitter to call for a greater understanding around discussions of mental health when address Ariana Grande.
“No one would ever choose to end up in a mental hospital and diagnosed with a mental disorder but god chose me to publicly go through this journey and it is beautiful,” wrote West. “I am able to experience first hand how people who have mental health issues get written off by society. Don’t listen to him cause he’s crazy….”
He added: “I don’t blame people for not knowing how to handle this that said we as a society will learn together.”
