Musical artist and rapper Kanye West, mostly known now as Ye, has caused further controversy this year by praising Hitler and constantly making antisemetic comments to the public in the last month. As a result of his behavior throughout this year, Ye has lost multiple of his infamous brand partnerships and endorsements making him no longer a billionaire, as he’s been dropped from Adidas, Balenciaga, Gap, and more. 

In 2018, Ye publicly stated he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. Common bipolar symptoms are irrational behavior and thinking- the public is torn determining if his mental illness is a justification for his recent actions thus far, or not. 

“I know you [people in general] can’t control your emotions, but I feel like you still have common sense,” Junior Brianna Torrez said. “You still have logic and should not be completely oblivious to what you’re saying, so he [Ye] knows what he’s saying.” 

Ye is popular among teenagers and young adults for his music albums such as Graduation, The Life of Pablo, and more. Many of his fans are now considering separating the art from the artist, in this case, they still attempt to listen to his music but do not favor himself as a person. 

“On a scale through 1-10 I rate Kanye’s music as an 8 and I’ve been listening to him for about 3 years.” Senior Luke Hanson said. “When I listen to his music, I don’t necessarily think of his character, but if someone asked if I supported his beliefs, then no because I feel his character is messed up and he doesn’t have clear morals.” 

On social media as well, many of his supporters and listeners are struggling to justify his actions or see any way he can be redeemed. 

“I see on TikTok people commenting that he ‘made Graduation’ or that they don’t care what he’s doing,” Hanson said. “Even though I really like Graduation- attacking a whole community of people and saying hateful things is not something I can look past.” 

As of now, it is unsure if Ye is up for redemption and forgiveness considering how influential he is and the harmful messages he is spreading into the community, but people are still attempting to put into account his mental well-being as well. 

“He literally has a mental illness,” Hanson said. “A lot of his decisions are very rash and straight to the point with his beliefs only, but a lot of that is because he has not sought out the help he needs.” 

“I may not agree with things he says, but that doesn’t mean I know his mental health or think of the context of how he thinks,” TOK teacher Mrs. Krshul said. “I do think giving him such a platform as the community does, it spreads information that doesn’t really benefit him.”