Topline
Kanye West made troubling and bizarre comments during an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson last week that were not broadcast as part of the show, with unaired clips obtained by Vice’s Motherboard showing West making antisemetic remarks and disturbing claims involving his children amid a spate of bizarre behavior from the billionaire mogul.
Rapper Kanye West attends a game between the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Lakers on March … [+]
Key Facts
In one unaired clip, West claimed that “fake children”—whom he said were professional actors–had been placed in his home to manipulate and “sexualize” his four children with former wife Kim Kardashian, adding one of the alleged imposters was the “so-called son” of an associate, according to Motherboard.
In another, West expanded on previous comments he made accusing LVMH billionaire Bernard Arnault of killing the late designer Virgil Abloh— who died of cancer last year—saying the company’s elitism and racism “ate him up inside” and affected his health.
West also made several inflammatory comments about Jews, including claiming that Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger collaborated with the Ku Klux Klan to found Planned Parenthood in order to “control the Jew population,” though West said that the term “Jew” refers to “the 12 lost tribes of Judah … who the people known as the race Black really are.”
West mentioned Jews again when he compared Black people judging each other for “how white we could talk” to a hypothetical situation in which there was a “Jewish person judging another Jewish person on how good they danced or something,” before saying viewers would likely be offended by his statement and adding he’d like for it to be cut from the broadcast.
West also complained that his children attend a school where Kwanzaa is taught and celebrated, saying he would rather them learn about the Jewish holiday Hanukkah because “at least it will come with some financial engineering.” (West referenced the conspiracy theory that Jewish people control the world in previous social media posts).
During another segment of West’s interview that did not air on Fox News, West confirmed he was vaccinated against Covid-19 and told Carlson he plans to create “kinetic energy communities” built with “free energy,” an idea West said he sees “over and over” in visions from God (Fox News did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment).
Tangent
West has been open about his bipolar disorder, which makes him “hyper-paranoid about everything (and) everyone,” during episodes, he told David Letterman during a 2019 interview. West described his experience as feeling as if “everyone now is an actor” and that “everything’s a conspiracy.” When West faced backlash in 2020 over controversial remarks he made during his failed run for president, Kardashian said her then-husband had difficulties coping with “pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bipolar disorder,” saying that his statements “sometimes do not align with his intentions.” Earlier this year, West said it was “cheap and dismissive to say I’m off my meds anytime I speak up,” in response to fans’ concerns he was no longer taking psychiatric medication.
Key Background
The leaked clips are the latest example of troubling behavior from West, who over the weekend was locked out of both Instagram and Twitter after making antisemitic comments, including tweeting that he planned to go “death con 3 on Jewish people.” On Monday, West posted a YouTube video in which he showed a “porn movie” to Adidas executives. West said he hoped to display the “extreme discomfort” he feels when the brand allegedly steals his designs. The video was posted days after Adidas announced its lucrative Yeezy line with West had been placed under review after West wore a “White Lives Matter” shirt during Paris Fashion Week. Last month, West abruptly pulled out of his decade-long partnership with Gap.
Forbes Valuation
We estimate West’s net worth is about $2 billion. However, he will likely lose his billionaire status if his ties with Adidas are severed. West’s Adidas deal is worth $220 million annually and $1.5 billion total, according to Forbes’ estimates.
Further Reading
Watch the Disturbing Kanye Interview Clips That Tucker Carlson Didn’t Put on Air (Vice)
Twitter Locks Kanye West’s Account After Post About Jewish People (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/10/11/kanye-west-made-troubling-claims-in-leaked-unaired-interview-footage/