Kanye West has once again shaken up public perception after he made a very personal reveal in a recent interaction. The rapper, who has long spoken about his struggles with mental health, now claims he was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and has instead been diagnosed with autism. During an interview on The Download podcast with Justin Laboy, Kanye, opened up about the discovery. According to him, it was his wife, Bianca Censori, who encouraged him to seek a second opinion after she felt that his behavior didn’t align with usual bipolar symptoms.
“My wife took me to do that because she said, ‘Something about your personality doesn’t feel like it’s bipolar, I’ve seen bipolar before.’ And I’ve come to find that it’s really a case of autism that I have,” West shared.
Kanye linked his newfound diagnosis to some of his most controversial moments, including his unwavering support for Donald Trump in 2018 when he wore a Make America Great Again hat and declared, “The mob can’t make me not love him.” “Autism takes you to a Rain Man thing,” he explained. “I’ma wear this Trump hat because I like Trump in general. And then when people tell you to not do it, you just get on that one point. And that’s my problem.”
West also pointed out how this affects his work process. He claimed that when fans or critics expect his music to go one way, he instinctively chooses the opposite direction. Well, that’s a creative rebellion that has been evident in his career all along. “When fans tell me to do my album a certain way, I’ll do it the opposite way,” he said.
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West revealed that he stopped taking medication after realizing his initial diagnosis of bipolar disorder was incorrect. He believes that his mental health struggles can be existing, but his creativity is sufficient enough to eradicate the need for prescription drugs. “I haven’t taken the medication since I found out that bipolar wasn’t the right diagnosis. It’s finding stuff that doesn’t block the creativity, obviously that’s what I bring to the world.”
At the same time, he didn’t forget mentioning that he still experiences episodes of mental distress, though he is more aware of them now. “I watch for it beforehand but if you get to the point it goes, you’re going to stay in that position for a while. It might go for three days, four days, a week.”
