If you’ve been following the latest updates from the Kardashian-West family, you’ll know by now that they are navigating a tough and complicated time.
Kayne West has, in recent weeks, been taking to Twitter along with other public forums and sharing a number of mixed messages.
Most notably, he tweeted a string of claims regarding his wife Kim Kardashian-West and her attempts to “lock me up with a doctor”. He has stated he has been trying to get a divorce, has compared his life to the film Get Out and at a campaign rally in Charleston, South Carolina, told audiences that “I almost killed my daughter,” when speaking on abortion.
Kardashian-West has mostly remained silent on the events, but earlier this week issued a statement confirming that West lives with bipolar disorder. She spoke to the pain and complexity of the situation her family is working through and asked for people to treat this with “grace”.
“Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words sometimes do not align with his intentions,” Kim is quoted saying.
This morning (July 26th) West has issued an apology to his wife. The rapper tweeted:
“I would like to apologize to my wife Kim for going public with something that was a private matter. I did not cover her like she has covered me. To Kim I want to say I know I hurt you. Please forgive me. Thank you for always being there for me.”
As yet, it doesn’t appear that Kardashian-West has responded publicly to her husband’s words. But what we can ascertain from this exchange is that mental health challenges are complicated, and there is no way we can ever gain a complete understanding of what any one individual is experiencing from afar.
It is true that West has made some painful and damaging comments in recent months and weeks. It’s important that we recognise that, and that we challenge those statements that are factually incorrect.
But if anything is clear right now, it’s that the Kardashian-West family is living through a difficult time. Love them or hate Kim and Kanye, that doesn’t change the fact that the topic of mental health always deserves to be treated with care and respect.
If you or someone you love is in need of mental health support, help is available. Call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit BeyondBlue.org.au.
Always be in the loop with our snackable podcast breaking the biggest story of the day. Subscribe to It’s Been A Big Day For… on your favourite podcast app.