Kim Kardashian makes plea for 'compassion and empathy' while breaking silence about Kanye West’s mental health
Kim Kardashian is breaking her silence to discuss Kanye West’s mental health in the wake of hurtful comments he’s made about her and their family over the last three days.
After the rapper’s latest Twitter tirade — in which he claimed he’s been trying to divorce her and called her a white supremacist — Kardashian made her first public statement on Instagram. She spoke of her “brilliant and complicated” husband’s struggle with bipolar disorder, which he was diagnosed with in 2016, making it clear that she’s currently “powerless” in helping him during his reported “bipolar episode,” until he himself wants to be helped, and calls for “compassion and empathy” as they try to “get through this.”
“As many of you know, Kanye has bi-polar disorder,” wrote the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star, who married West in 2014. “Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand. I’ve never spoken publicly about how this has affected us at home because I am very protective of our children” — they have four — “and Kanye’s right to privacy when it comes to his health. But today, I feel like I should comment on it because of the stigma and misconceptions about mental health.”
She continued, “Those that understand mental illness or even compulsive behavior know that the family is powerless unless the member is a minor. People who are unaware or far removed from this experience can be judgmental and not understand that the individual themselves have to engaged in the process of getting help no matter how hard family and friends try.”
Kardashian went on to say that she understands “Kanye is subject to criticism because he is a public figure and his actions at times can cause strong opinions and emotions.” She called him “a brilliant but complicated person” who “on top of the pressures of being an artist and a black man,” and one who “experienced the painful loss of his mother” Donda West in 2007, “and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bi-polar disorder. Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times do not align with his attentions.”
She said of the 21-time Grammy winner, “Living with bi-polar disorder does not diminish or invalidate his dreams and his creative ideas, no matter how big or unobtainable they may feel to some. This at part of his genius and as we have all witnessed, many of his big dreams have come true.”
Kardashian ended with, “We as a society talk about giving grace to this issue of mental health as a whole, however we should also give it to the individuals who are living with it in times when they need it the most. I kindly ask that the media and public give us the compassion and empathy that is needed so that we can get through this. Thank you for those who have expressed concern for Kanye’s well being and for your understanding.”
Here is her statement:
Kardashian’s comments follow West’s latest late-night Twitter rant in which he said he has been trying to divorce his wife after she met with Meek Mill at a hotel to discuss criminal reform. (According to TMZ, Kardashian and Mill — who both work with prison reform organization #cut50 — met, along with philanthropist Clara Wu Tsai, over a meal at Jean-Georges’s restaurant at the Waldorf Astoria L.A. It wasn’t a one-on-one meeting, and Kardashian and Mill have never been alone together.)
West also repeated his claim that Kardashian and her mom, Kris Jenner, “tried to fly in” to Wyoming, where he owns a ranch, “with 2 doctors” to have him placed in an involuntary psychiatric hold. He also slammed the Kardashian camp for speaking to the press about him being in the middle of a bipolar episode, saying her decision to do so without his approval was “white supremacy.”
In the same rant, he called his mother-in-law “Kris Jong-Un.”
All this kicked up on Sunday at his first presidential campaign rally in South Carolina. During his speech, he revealed that he and Kardashian considered aborting their now-7-year-old daughter, North, but he had an epiphany seconds before Kardashian was to take an abortion pill. West was speaking on his position of being pro-life, acknowledging during his speech that Kardashian may divorce him for revealing such a personal detail about their family.
The following day, West said in a Twitter rant that Kardashian and Jenner tried to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to “lock me up,” saying they were going to place him in an involuntary psychiatric hold but it didn’t work. He also said Jenner was no longer allowed to see their children.
Comedian Dave Chappelle, who has struggled with his own mental health in the earlier days of his stardom, visited West in Wyoming on Tuesday amid the drama. West shared a video thanking Chappelle and said he was “doing fine” as sources close to the Kardashians told Yahoo Entertainment that the opposite was true and they have been “worried and upset” over West.
According to a family friend, “Kim has been trying to help him, but he doesn’t think he needs help. Especially not any kind of medical intervention.”
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