I’m going to get right down to the nitty-gritty with this one.
So we’ve all seen the video footage of Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech after winning the ‘Best Female Video’ award at the VMA’s this past Sunday. Every possible media outlet was ablaze with Kanye hate after this bizarre moment.We all passed our judgment on him, calling him a myriad of names and wondering what in the world is up with that dude.
I have to admit, I was on that brother hard too via my comments on Twitter. (Follow me by the way. Shameless plug I know, lol)
His actions made him a running joke. To some it was entertainment. To others it was just plain rude and ridiculous. I stopped briefly on Sunday night after all of that happened to think if Kanye has always been this eccentric and irresponsible or did this all start after the early passing of his mother Donda West in 2007.
I figured that he was always kinda nutty but had his mother here to reign him in a bit. But now that she’s no longer here, he’s been a loose cannon ever since then. Assaulting the paparazzi and foolishness like that.
It didn’t take long for Kanye to realize that his actions during the VMA’s were rude and disrespectful. He immediately took to his blog to issue a public apology to Taylor. Since then, he asked if he could make a televised apology during the new Jay Leno Show, on which he appeared with Jay-Z and Alicia Keys to perform.
When I saw the above video, it broke my heart. It clear that Kanye has never really dealt with his grief in the right ways. He’s immersed himself with work and embedded himself in the spotlight to take the edge off of losing his mother.
But it’s clear her never really dealt with it.
Being a celebrity is a hard job as it is. Throw grieving in the mix, well, it can easily send someone over the edge. Grief is a hard thing to deal with. Some cry. Some fall on their faith and religion to hold them together. And some, like Kanye, suppress it. Kanye is a classic example of a person who is suppressing his emotions by running from them.
He’s running away from himself, his feelings and his ultimate reality. Because let’s face it, the life he lives is not real life. It’s orchestrated by teams of people who make his life happen the way we, the public, see it. But the life as authored by Kanye West — the human being…the man — that life hasn’t been lived since 2007 when his mother passed.
This is similar to what happened with Michael Jackson. He was grieving the loss of his childhood, albeit in some strange ways, but he was. And the public judged him for it. Madonna did a heartfelt introduction on the VMA’s about Mike that pointed out that the same world who loved Mike, was the same world who’s judgmental criticism sent him ultimately over the edge.
That same judgmental world did the same thing with Kanye. He does NOT get a pass for his actions on Sunday night. But, it’s definitely clear that it’s part of a bigger problem.
Thankfully, Kanye will get the help he needs to get through this and come back stronger.
Will folks alienate him? Probably. For a little while at least. Will they not support him? Probably not. Hopefully, people can see the bigger picture and keep that in mind when they face a situation they just can’t figure out how to get over.
I know I will.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I do believe that Kanye never properly dealt with his mom’s passing. I think a lot of his behavior is evident of that (ie: Amber Rose).
I don’t, however, think this incident is really about him not dealing with his mom’s death. He’s jumped on stage and interrupted a speech before because he didn’t win an award. This is what he does.
He should take the time to grieve though.