Throughout October 2022, the international celebrity, Kanye West, has been in the spotlight on many social media platforms; however, instead of the rapper being recognized for a  new music title or album, West has been viewed lately for his derogatory behavior and harassment on the internet. 

West has been caught smack dab in the middle of major controversies, and has been largely reprimanded throughout the last month; mainly, it is because the rapper has spewed anti-Semitic and racially charged statements on public platforms like Twitter and Instagram. West’s comments and fiery actions on social media caused him to lose partnerships and relationships with several brands, including Adidas, GAP, Instagram, Twitter, Balenciaga, and CAA. After losing these brand deals, the world-renowned artist was kicked off the Forbes list of billionaires once his net worth dropped from 2 billion dollars to 400 million.

While West has been on a financial and moral downturn, West has still used his social media as an outlet for his thoughts and hateful statements. Throughout the year, Kanye West has harassed his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, on Twitter by exclaiming that she is a horrible and unprotective mother to their four children; additionally, the rapper has majorly ridiculed Kardashian’s previous boyfriend, Pete Davidson, by either inciting that he would beat Davidson up or that Davidson would ruin his ex-wife’s life with drugs.

The comments made by West, which threatened the safety of his ex-wife and the lives of Jewish individuals, have baffled the general public; however, West still has loyal fans gathering behind him to support his ideologies and praise his beliefs. The music of Kanye West has been loved by younger generations of people, including teenagers and young adults for many years now. Though, with the rapper now accumulating support from right-wing and neo-nazi groups, the model role of West in the lives of teenagers is being tainted, yet many are not quite recognizing it.

This is why teenagers in middle school, high school, and university need to be aware of West’s threatening actions.

Impressionable young people may feel potentially tempted to follow the words and beliefs of their favorite musicians, especially if those artists are as notably present in the media as West is. However, his recent scandals that he caused exemplify why people should closely acknowledge when their idealized celebrities cause harm. Being aware of West’s harmful outbursts: separating the man from his music are some things crucial for his youthful fans to attempt to do during these moments.

On top of this, West has been open and discussed his diagnosis of bipolar disorder several times throughout his career, and some speculate that his recent comments and actions have stimulated episodes of the rapper. However, there have been many people arguing that the mental health of individuals should not justify the harmful and racist behavior of someone. In this case, although it is important to be conscientious of West’s possible, frantic ordeals with his mental disorder, it is also extremely critical for the musician’s fans to not bypass his anti-Semitic messages as parts of his “manic episodes.” West has publicly made racist and harmful comments, and he should be held accountable for them even if they arose from West’s altered mental state.