It’s Time to Give Up on Kanye

James Oatis

He/Him

Staff Writer

2/28/25

For many (including myself), Kanye West was one of the most revered artists of all time. His music discography stood in conversations with artists like The Beatles, Radiohead, and John Coltrane for the title of greatest of all time. This success has not come out with many controversies, but over the past 10 years, it is evident that West has failed to learn from his past mistakes. Unfortunately, if you have not already, it is time to give up on Kanye West.

Throughout his career, West has made it clear he is no stranger to controversy. Kanye had mostly stayed out of controversy until the infamous 2009 VMA Awards, when pop artist Taylor Swift won an award for her “You Belong with Me” music video at the VMAs. It was at this point that West, who had been inebriated, infamously grabbed the microphone and decried how Beyonce’s video should have won. He was booed out of the venue and was in the crosshairs of the press for his actions. After the incident, West kept a low profile until his return with “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” in 2010, which is considered to be one of his best albums.

For the next five years, West’s controversies were notably smaller, as most news was about his marriage to celebrity Kim Kardashian and his involvement in the Kardashian family. It was not until 2016 that West had re-entered the media for his divisive actions and health problems. After having a breakdown and being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, West began a more frequent campaign of controversy.

One of the most consistent ways West has gained infamy and bad press is using Twitter/X. One Ye tweet to gain mass media notoriety was in 2018, where he expressed his belief that chattel slavery in the south was a choice. Later in the year, he met with controversial figure President Trump, which was heavily covered by the media. After a relatively quiet year in 2019 with the release of “JESUS IS KING,” West would enter the next decade with some of his loudest controversies yet.

In 2020, Kanye announced his presidential campaign, which gained him some attention as he held a campaign rally in South Carolina. Comments such as his claim Harriet Tubman never freed the slaves were rightfully met with waves of negative feedback.

During 2021, Ye was involved in a messy divorce with Kim Kardashian, involving a public feud with Kardashians partner at the time, comedian Pete Davidson. West had publicly lashed out at the SNL star on many occasions on his Instagram. It was not until next year however, when West got into the biggest controversy of his career so far.

At the end of 2022, in a now infamous episode of the former Alex Jones podcast “InfoWars,” Ye praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and made many antisemitic remarks. This was met by almost universal negative feedback as many fans and businesses (including YEEZY partner Adidas) distanced themselves from West.

2023 was mostly spent recovering from the fallout of the previous Nazi comments until the end of the year with the rollout of the “VULTURES” project with Ty Dollar Sign, leading into 2024. The first big news of the rollout was West wearing a Burzum hoodie in an Instagram post with JPEGMAFIA. Burzum is a black metal band created by infamous Neo-Nazi and convicted murderer, Varg Vikernes.

To celebrate 20 years of his debut, West made headlines yet again for the risqué cover art of him next to his almost naked wife, Bianca Censori. The music itself was also controversial as Pitchfork gave it one of his lowest scores at a 5.8. Despite this, the song “CARNIVAL” gained rapid fame and popularity.

Later in the year, Ye released “Vultures Vol. 2” in August, which was met with even more negative feedback than his previous project. Fans also accused West of lazily using AI on songs such as “530″ and “Sky City.” The final big news story revolving around the now infamous rapper was the allegation of his abuse of nitrous oxide which was allegedly provided to him by his dentist.

Now in 2025, Ye continues to put any shred of dignity he had left in a woodchipper with his return to Twitter and his Grammy appearance. West again made headlines when he showed up, uninvited, with Censori fully nude. Ye was then escorted out by security, and later went on an Instagram rant about how his wife was the most searched person on earth. Directly after, Ye murdered any possible good press and reputation with a now infamous rant on Twitter/X, starting with his support of alleged pedophile Sean “Diddy” Combs as he tweeted #FREEPUFF. Ye then went on to praise Hitler, claim he is a Nazi, reaffirm his 2018 slavery comments, post pornography, and diss other celebrities. Ye also sold a swastika t-shirt on his website.

With the recent rant, it is clear Ye shows no remorse for past actions, and is truly morally bankrupt. It is now clear that any support or justification of Ye is enabling him to continue his actions. If you are a fan of Ye and his music, the best thing you can do is either call him out on his bullshit, inform others of the harm his actions have caused, or just ignore him completely.