Kanye West says dealing with the effects of having his privacy invaded by the paparazzi and not having control over how he is photographed and how his images are used led to him taking medication.
The rapper had revealed in the past that he was diagnosed as bipolar, and it is something that often comes up when he goes on his rants which some critics refer to as manic episodes. However, the rapper is sharing for the first time that the reason he began to take medication was because of his experiences dealing with the paparazzi who often camp out and follow his movements.
In a video surfaced on Tuesday night, the artist calmy speaks to a paparazzi photographer who bombards him with unwanted questions about his rumored new wife, Bianca Censori. The rapper and Censori were out on a date at a tanning spa when the rapper came around to shield Censori before he calmly questioned the photographer and even told him why he didn’t like them taking his photos.
After Kanye tells the photographer to stop, the photographer, who continues to video, says, “ I just need this one shot,” which draws a response from Kanye.
“No, you got the shot, but I’m saying…You don’t even know! You just jump up on people like this.”
Kanye also engages the photographer in a conversation as he explains why he does not like the paparazzi and even shares his first experience dealing with the paps led to him having to take medication to manage his anger and emotions.
“Do you know the first time I ever took medication, why it was? Because I got mad at the paparazzi,” he explained. “You know which paparazzi it was? The same one that shot Britney [Spears]. My dad did photography for newspapers. It has to be some kind of balance, some kind of conversation,” the rapper said.
Kanye also went on to share that he couldn’t be normal or free in his daily life in California without being fearful that he was constantly observed.
“I can’t live in California in my life like I’m some type of caged animal to be judged in front of [a] glass.”
Kanye West also asked the man whom he worked for and said that it was unfair that they are allowed to take photos of celebrities and earn money while the celebrities earn nothing. The Yeezy founder also shared that celebrities have no input on the photos, whether they look their best or not, because it was all about money for the paparazzi.
“The media doesn’t have a right to like, boom, pop up. We ain’t have no idea. And then I have no say-so over the shot,” he said. “Y’all find where we’re at, y’all take this photo — what percentage of the money do we get off of the photos?” he asked.
Kanye famously attacked a member of the paparazzi in the past, and he later settled the case. He seemed to address the past incident.
“At this point, I’ve served too many years in the game, I’ve been to anger management — I’m not in that life no more…But when you get all the images and stuff, it’s like… it doesn’t work for me. It’s not right, and just because it’s been like that for a long time, don’t mean that it’s gonna be like that.”
Meanwhile, things almost became physical as Kanye threatened to take the photographer’s cameras after Kanye told him his actions were wrong, but the photographer insisted that it was legal to take anyone’s pictures even though there might be an ethical issue at play.
As the photographer beat a hasty retreat in fear of Ye snatching his cameras, the rapper had a parting word for the rest of the Paps.
“Let all the paparazzi know, it’s up!”
