Unpacking the Ye Saga: A Conversation About Celebrities and Mental Health
After witnessing Kanye’s breakdown on Instagram and the various reactions that his posts incited from the public last week, we consider the problematic spectatorship we, the “audience”, have when commenting on celebrities’ personal lives and mental health struggles.
It’s no secret that celebrities live very public lives, with the details of their personal relationships often aired out for the world to see through the media or via their own social media pages. Ever find it strange how we know everything about these famed “strangers”? Or how the events of their lives are always up for discussion, whether they like it or not? It is a sort of spectatorship that has since become normalised in society today. No doubt, it is interesting to discuss the workings and drama of the biggest names in entertainment – but how far is too far?
Last week, Kanye West (now professionally known as Ye) took to Instagram to air his grievances about his divorce, failed friendships, and conflict with Pete Davidson in a series of now-deleted posts. And of course, the start of new drama amongst Ye, his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, her new boyfriend Pete, and Ye’s ex-friend and collaborator Kid Cudi incited quite the reaction from the media and fans of the rapper everywhere. Social media platforms like Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook were flooded with opinions and memes mere seconds after Ye went off on his rant.
Ye’s Instagram posts were most likely to have been a result of his bipolar disorder, which according to the Singapore Association for Mental Health, is a “manic-depressive illness” that is “characterised by periods of mania and depression” where the affected person may “react impulsively” during a manic episode; something very clearly displayed in Ye’s outburst on Instagram and in his later regret.
“I’m working on my communication,” said the rapper as he took responsibility for his posts. “I can benefit from a team of creative professionals, organizers, mobilizers and community leaders. Thank you all for supporting me. I know sharing screenshots was shocking and seemed to nag Kim. I take responsibility. I’m still learning in real-time. I don’t have all the answers. Being a good leader is being a good listener.”
After the announcement of the couple’s split in early 2021, Kim pleaded with the public to be patient with the rapper and to empathise with his then-meltdown. “As many of you know, Kanye has [bipolar] disorder,” she wrote. “Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words [sometimes] do not align with his intentions,” a personal opinion of Kim’s making it clear that Ye’s impulsive behaviour happens quite often and is out of his control.
The rapper himself also took to a 3.5-hour interview on the Drink Champs podcast to discuss his battle with mental health and his annoyance with people labelling him with the word “crazy”. “We all are on the spectrum somewhere,” he said when asked about his bipolarism. “There’s a lot of people who will say, “I don’t believe that you are actually bipolar.” And anytime somebody wants to say that I’m wrong about something, hide the truth [or] lie, they say, “Ye’s crazy.” It’s just the ultimate final cut-off to not have to listen.”
Don’t get us wrong, we’re not using Ye’s history with bipolar disorder as an excuse for his aggressive behaviour towards Kim, Pete, and Cudi over the past few weeks, but more of a means to better understand why his manic episode occurred in the first place. What we would like to do is tackle the discourse of how we, the public, react to instances like this.
‘The Good Place’ actress Jameela Jamil sums our thoughts on the matter up in one Instagram post: “This is not me in ANY WAY defending or excusing Kanye. But I do know enough about mental illness to know that the public/media is handling this in a way that only leads to more sadness/danger for everyone involved.”
“A woman is afraid. Children are traumatized. And Kanye is making catastrophic decisions,” she continues. “Just stop treating it like it’s Real Housewives.”
It’s unfortunate that everyone is treating Ye’s very obvious struggle with his mental health as a joke or a punchline for conversation, so much so that psychologists are pleading for people to stop engaging with Ye for the sake of his own health. In an interview with USA Today, board-certified psychiatrist, Kali Hobson, calls out the differences in reaction to displays of mental illness in high-profile celebrities and “regular” people.
“When you are a celebrity, your mental health challenges are put on display to the public,” she shares. “You are often criticised, made fun of, chastised, and compared to others. People who don’t know you or your history are making judgments and labelling you with diagnoses.”
“People become emboldened to make fun of celebrities because they feel so far removed from their life and they almost see them as not human; a fictional character,” she says. And there it is – the desensitization of the way we view and treat celebrities. If you truly consider it, you wouldn't react the same "mocking" way to your friends should they behave in an erratic manner caused by mental health issues as well. So why do we act this way when it comes to celebrities?
It is worth noting that stars have limits too. The constant egging on by society, paparazzi and the media to get a visceral reaction out of them has clearly gone out of hand. With examples of not just Ye, but names like Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, and more proving this toxic cycle again and again. Perhaps it’s time we all took a step back and considered where we draw the line when it comes to engaging with celebrities.
