Why Kanye West needs empathy – and the withdrawal of attention

Ye, as American rapper Kanye West now calls himself, loves Hitler and loves Nazis. He is said to have said this on Thursday in an interview with the far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Replying that the Nazis “did really bad things”, Ye said: “But they also did good things. We must stop dissing the Nazis all the time. […] I like Nazis.” Eventually he even said: “I like Hitler.”

Twitter later suspended his account for allegedly sharing a photo of a swastika merged with a Star of David after the interview.

This is not a good development, but it is not new either. Four years ago, he praised Donald Trump, wore a red cap that read “Make America Great Again,” and felt like “Superman.” Being black himself, he also questioned whether slavery was not a choice, and said that blacks were spiritually imprisoned.

In October this year, he wore a shirt with the slogan “White Lives Matter” to Paris Fashion Week. A few days later he tweeted: “Death con 3 on JUDEN declares”. Twitter has suspended his account.

What you should know: Ye has been struggling with his mental health for a long time. In 2016, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after being hospitalized for a psychiatric emergency.

Since then, he has continued to talk about his manic episodes. On a show with David Letterman, he said, “When you’re in that state, you’re hyperparanoid about everything and everyone. […] Everything is a conspiracy. You feel like the government has put a chip in your head. You feel that you are accepted. You feel these things.”

Mental health is no excuse for racism and anti-Semitism. Ye’s statements are alarming – and extremely dangerous, so in the middle of the mainstream.

Still, no one can deny that their diagnosis makes it more difficult to separate the person from the disorder. What speaks in him now and why? Is it a symptom or a strategy? Nobody knows. Probably not even himself.

That is why empathy is needed – and withdrawal. For us and for him. We made it and let it entertain us for too long. He was the accident we can’t take our eyes off of Savage.

You were a good talking point, good business stuff. Media companies took advantage of his scandals and fashion companies made deals with him. There was money to be made.

We took advantage of him and he took advantage of us. Because while Ye was struggling with his illness, we bought his clothes and went to his concerts. In the past, Ye has always managed to generate attention and economize despite dissenting statements – because as a global star, he holds the levers of influence.

But because Ye uses these levers more and more irresponsibly, fueling hatred and hate speech, they are now being taken out of his hands. Finally! It should have happened sooner.

Adidas, Balenciaga and Gap have turned their backs on him. A move that will cost her millions. Twitter and Instagram regularly block him for violating guidelines. Even his plan to buy the right online network Parler failed. He is slowly running out of platforms.

Ye lose range.

And that’s probably the best thing that can happen to him: he can concentrate on his illness instead of commercialism. He has always refused to take his meds: his disorder is his “superpower,” he said on the show with David Letterman. She slowly fades.