Kim Kardashian West has spoken about her husband Kanye West’s bipolar disorder after the rapper posted and deleted a series of erratic tweets concerning his family life he launched his presidential campaign in Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday.
She said on her Instagram page, “Those who are close to Kanye know his heart and understand his words on some occasions do not align with his intentions.”
The reality TV and fashion mogul said she previously dodged commenting on her husband’s mental health in order to protect West and her children’s right to privacy. In breaking that silence of hers, she made it known she wished to address the “stigma and misconceptions” which surrounds mental health.
According to Kardashian, “Those who understand mental illness or obsessive behavior even realize that the family has little control over the situation unless the individual is a juvenile. Persons who are not aware or far removed from this experience can be making judgments and not understand that the individuals themselves have to engage in the process of getting help no matter how hard family and friends make efforts to help him.”
In the United States, involuntary treatment and hospitalization are deemed to infringe on the rights of the individual. An individual must first pose dangerous to themselves or others in order to be held, for evaluation only which usually lasts no more than 72 hours. An old or “gravely disabled” person may be placed under a conservatorship. Britney Spears has been subject to such an arrangement ever since she experienced a breakdown in 2008, which has given notoriety to controversy over how it was appropriate to her situation.
Kanye West was willingly admitted to a hospital in 2016 after an emergency call concerning his welfare was placed after he acted erratically during some periods. “I am aware of the fact that my husband is a target of criticism because he is a public figure and his actions at times can cause strong opinions and emotions. He is a brilliant but complicated man who alongside the pressures of being an artist and a black man, experienced the painful loss of his mother, and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is further exacerbated by his bipolar disorder.”
Kanye West has been subjected to more widespread media attention than he usually gets after he announced his presidential campaign in early July. While he is not confirmed to have filed the official paperwork, he has already tweeted on Twitter asking his fans to vote for him in certain states.
