Kanye West is arguably one of the most famous men in the entire world. Since 2005, the rapper has pretty much reached world domination in terms of album sales, sneaker sales and being able to sell out gigs wherever he goes.
He’s also married to one of the most famous women in the world, Kim Kardashian West, so continues to be the source of intense public interest, and all the speculation that comes with it.
Of course not everyone likes Kanye, who’s what you’d call a force to be reckoned with, and that’s putting it lightly.
From storming the MTV stage to interrupt Taylor Swift to meetings with Donald Trump at the White House (wearing a Make America Great Again cap, no less), Kanye’s attracted his fair share of controversy.
He’s also routinely subjected to a complete character assassination in the tabloids; his Twitter rants and even his mental health being topics to be dissected in great detail.
Which is why it’s so utterly refreshing – and brave – to hear the rapper talk about his mental health struggles by his own admission – something he absolutely doesn’t need to do, but will no doubt shine a light on the continued stigma that comes with having a mental illness.
He even talks about the “stigma of crazy” he’s endured.
Kanye, who’s been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, spoke about his mental health in a new interview with David Letterman, for the second series of the Netflix show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.
Watch the full trailer for Kanye’s interview with David Letterman. Post continues after video.
Top Comments
“This is my specific experience that I’ve had over the past two years, because I’ve only been diagnosed for two years now.”
Surely he realises that he was bipolar before his diagnosis!? Your diagnosis is part of the journey to wellness, not the starting point.
Why would he realise he had bipolar before being diagnosed? Before I was diagnosed with bipolar I never knew I had it. Why would I? It was only after I started on the meds and was able to look back that I could see that things weren't quite right.
This is his experience with medication.
Medication comes after diagnosis. He has only been in medication two years.
“This is my specific experience”... very well expressed by Kanye. Like all mental illnesses, everyone experiences it differently. Some will never get to those manic highs and, instead, will just become more productive and energetic and spend more time in serious depressions. It’s a spectrum disorder which is seriously misunderstood. I hope Kanye’s interview can serve as an education to those that struggle to understand the complexities of severe mental illness. It’s not to be feared!