The 5 biggest revelations from the new Kim Kardashian and Kanye West documentary.

Every so often, a documentary comes along that is so specifically catered to my interests that I have to watch it the second it's available. Kim vs Kanye: The Divorce is very much... that.

As a fan of both Kim Kardashian and messy celebrity divorces, I inhaled this two-part documentary in one sitting.

Kim vs Kanye: The Divorce premiered on Binge on September 21 with both episodes dropping at once. The documentary examines the marriage and divorce of Kim Kardashian and Kanye 'Ye' West, two of the biggest celebrities on the planet. It offers up entertainment industry insights, along with interviews with the lawyers involved in the couple's divorce settlement.

Watch the trailer here. Post continues after video.

What makes this documentary different is that it's divided into 'Kanye's Story' and 'Kim's Story'.

The first episode chronicles Kanye's meteoric rise from the streets of Chicago to become one of the most prolific artists in history, dominating both music and fashion like no other. 

This episode presents a sympathetic view of the rapper, offering a justification for how he became such a problematic figure in 2023, from the tragic death of his mother Donda to his Bipolar disorder diagnosis.

Then there's Kim's side. This flip of the coin presents a woman who was looking for true love when she met Kanye, got swept up in his star power, then realised she no longer had any control over her life. After the divorce, things took a dark turn for Kim which is outlaid throughout part two. 

A lot of the documentary covers old ground, but these are the biggest bombshells Kim vs Kanye: The Divorce.

The Kardashians purposefully portrayed Kanye West negatively on their reality show. 

In part one, several commenters claimed that the Kardashians shifted how they portrayed Kanye on Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Kardashians in order to protect their brand. While Kanye was initially presented in a positive light when he proposed to Kim and they welcomed their kids, North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm, things shifted in recent years as Kanye's behaviour became more erratic.  

"Kim is one of the most brand-managed people in the world," writer and commenter Zan Romanoff said. "Initially protecting Kanye was part of the Kardashian brand... it then became apparent that wasn't the case, so then they were like 'Okay, we're going to show you in a different light because we need to protect ourselves'." 

Another interviewee added, "Over the years we've seen a change on how they present him on Keeping Up with the Kardashians — it gets darker and heavier."

Social media writer, Natalie Franklin, said that this portrayal was racially loaded. "In America, it's very easy to paint a black man as crazy or aggressive or offensive."

Franklin said that Kanye's changing portrayal on KUWTK was a "tactic to paint Kanye as this unstable person."

Two moments were the final straw for Kim Kardashian.

According to the documentary, Kim's decision to divorce Kanye was triggered by two moments. The first was Kanye's rant in South Carolina in July 2020 where he revealed Kim had almost had an abortion. 

In response, one interviewee said "In terms of the public brand, Kris and Kim knew they had to cut Kanye lose."

Then the following day, Kanye sent a series of tweets which took aim at both Kim and momager, Kris Jenner. 

"Kim was trying to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to lock me up like on the movie Get Out because I cried about saving my daughter's life yesterday," West posted.

In another tweet, he wrote "Kriss [sic] don't play with me you... are not allowed around my children... Ya'll tried to lock me up." 

"The nail in the coffin for their marriage was Kanye going on Twitter and going against the family," entertainment reporter Dax Holt said. "He put up one tweet in particular... he said that Kris Jenner wanted to 'lock him up'."

At the time, parallels were drawn between Kanye and Britney Spears' conservatorship which was in the spotlight due to the 'Free Britney' movement. 

Kanye West claimed their prenup was invalid to delay divorce. 

Kanye dragged out the divorce, taking months to reach a settlement.

"Kanye argued that the prenup was invalid as in general California prenups were invalid. None of that makes any sense. Prenups are definitely valid in California, courts enforce them every day," said domestic abuse attorney, Lisa Bloom. 

"It seems to me that Kanye was trying to stall, delay, muck up the system, make it go as slow as possible. He was trying to delay the inevitable which was a divorce from Kim Kardashian." 

Kanye West's lawyers were Jewish.

Kanye's career came crashing down last year after he went on an anti-Semitic tirade on Twitter, prompting Adidas, Balenciaga, and every other brand to drop him.

And he also got dropped by his divorce lawyer who happened to be Jewish. 

In October 2022, Robert Cohen resigned as Kanye's lawyer. "Because of Kanye's anti-Semitic comments, Cohen has to get off the case as he is one of the most prominent Jewish lawyers in New York," said legal commenter Neama Rahmani. 

Cohen reflected on his decision, saying "sometimes a relationship breaks down and I can no longer be there." 

Nick Salek stayed on as Kanye's lawyer. "He [Kayne] doesn't know that I was born and raised Jewish," Salek said. "He never found that out. It was extremely offensive to hear that type of comments come from a client. 

"On the other hand, the case needed to be finished and someone had to do it." 

Kanye West exhibited many red flags throughout their relationship.

Several interviewees alleged that Kanye was controlling during his relationship with Kim. This began in the early phase of their relationship, with Kanye often telling Kim what she should and shouldn't wear, as documented on Keeping Up With The Kardashians.  

"We see Kanye with a lack of boundaries," said high-conflict divorce specialist Virginia Gilbert. "It's not his business how she dresses."

At the time, most people didn't raise any alarms as Kanye was considered the more fashionable person. "If you saw this with a civilian woman... he's controlling what she wears and who she hangs out with — those are red flags," said writer and commenter Zan Romanoff.

In one scene played in the documentary Kim decides on her own look for the 2019 Met Gala, which doesn't please Kanye. In an exchange aired on KUWTK, Kanye criticises how Kim's skintight Mugler dress appears. 

"You are my wife and it affects me when pictures are too sexy," he said. 

"If you look back at photos from the Met Gala, all eyes were focused on her," Dax Holt said. "He just seems scowly in the background, like he doesn't approve of what's happening."

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West at the 2019 Met Gala. Image: Getty. 

Kanye's controlling nature is something Gilbert noticed in Kanye's past relationship. "This pattern of behaviour didn't just happen with Kim, it happened with Amber Rose."

Entertainment journalist Jawn Murray agreed with this assessment. "Kanye builds his girlfriends... he dresses her up, he parades her around, she goes where he wants her to go, and does what he wants her to do." 

Kanye and Amber dated for two years from 2008 to 2010.

As Kim became a fashion force, Kanye's behaviour became increasingly erratic. At a show one night, Kanye announced their family was moving to Chicago which led to an argument aired on KUWTK. 

"Isolation is a form of coercive control," said Lisa Bloom. "The abusive partner will try to prevent their partner from seeing friends and family... for Kim, she had to be pretty desperate, she never knew what would come next." 

Kanye's behaviour during Kim's relationship with Pete Davidson was also highlighted as concerning. 

During the nine-month relationship, Kanye posted several Instagram captions attacking Pete who he renamed 'Skete', along with sharing private messages between himself and the Saturday Night Live star. 

"It could put Kim at risk, it could be Pete at risk," said Virginia Gilbert. "Also young men may go on to treat the women in their lives in a similar way because their hero has told them 'this is how a man behaves'." 

Other acts like sending a truck full of flowers to Kim's house and sharing her private texts on social media were all deemed as red flags. In February 2022, Kim filed a 'bifurcation' request to be ruled legally single as she was feeling "emotional distress" due to "misinformation" Kanye was spreading about their family. 

The next month, Kim Kardashian was declared legally single. Kim and Kanye's divorce was settled in November 2022.

Kim vs Kanye: The Divorce premieres on Binge on 21 September with both episodes dropping at once.

Feature image: Getty.

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