Questions That Need Answers: Kanye West and Mental Health

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Questions That Need Answers: Kanye West and Mental Health"

With The Perrys — February 13, 2023

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Overview of the Episode

In this episode of "With The Perrys," hosts Preston Perry and Jackie Hill Perry tackle a question at the intersection of celebrity culture, mental health, and faith: "Why don't we treat Kanye West like a human being?" Through candid conversation marked by humor and compassion, they explore how society responds to Kanye's public struggles with mental illness and what it means for Christians—and everyone—to treat celebrities with genuine humanity, empathy, and prayer, rather than spectacle or scorn.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Dehumanization of Celebrity

• Premise: Preston raises the central question: "Why don't we treat this man like he a human being?" (00:29)
• Dehumanization: Jackie argues that celebrity status strips away a person’s humanity, turning them into spectacles rather than fellow humans.
  • “It seems as if Kanye is no longer a human, but a spectacle.” (01:44)
• Preston agrees and suggests society is less empathetic toward celebrities than toward their own family members.

2. Kanye West: Mental Illness vs. Fame

• While acknowledging Kanye’s narcissism and self-focus, Preston emphasizes the public cries for help that are frequently ignored:
  • “I've kind of seen Kanye West put out things out there that might be a cry for help that I feel like the world doesn't pay attention to just because he's famous.” (00:59)
• Both hosts note that Kanye has openly discussed his mental illness, yet conversations about him rarely acknowledge this fact.
• Comparison: They suggest that if Kanye were a family member, empathy would come more naturally.

3. Christian Response to Celebrity Struggles

• Difference from the World: Jackie points out that Christians should not mimic the world’s “fake love” and reactive remorse, but instead, proactively humanize and care for those suffering, even at a distance.
  • “For Christians... it's important for us to make sure that we don't treat people the way the world treats people.” (02:30)
• Power of Prayer: Since most people cannot interact directly with celebrities, they suggest the most meaningful response is to pray for them.
  • “How do we attempt to love him well, being that we don't know him? And I think that is to pray.” (02:58)

4. Accountability and “Cancel Culture”

• Jackie and Preston discuss accountability versus outright “canceling.”
  • “There’s always room for canceling, insofar as canceling is a function of holding someone accountable.” (03:31)
  • Preston clarifies: “Being so disappointed in everything that he does and not considering the fact that the dude has a whole mental illness.” (04:04)
• They agree that consequences for harmful speech (like losing deals) can be appropriate, but erasing compassion and context due to his illness is not.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Empathy for the Famous:

  • “If Kanye West was our cousin or our brother, we would be more empathetic to the hurtful things that he says.” — Preston (01:05)

• Spectacle over Humanity:

  • “It seems as if Kanye is no longer a human, but a spectacle.” — Jackie (01:44)

• Prayer as Action:

  • “At the very least, we could pray.” — Jackie (02:28)
  • “When we consider him and in the headlines, like, his mental illness is not talked about enough, and I think that's problematic.” — Preston (01:31)

• On Canceling:

  • “Him losing deals is a way of holding him accountable to his speech… I was actually glad. I was like, Lord, I hope this draws him to repentance.” — Preston (03:53–04:00)

• Ending Reflection:

  • “Kanye has a mental illness, but he is a human being, should be treated and considered and thought of as a human being and treated with the same dignity and respect that is owed to a human being.” — Jackie (04:27)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:29 – Preston asks why Kanye isn’t treated as a human being.
• 01:44 – Jackie highlights celebrity dehumanization and spectacle.
• 02:30 – Jackie and Preston discuss the Christian responsibility toward celebrities.
• 03:31–04:14 – Nuances of “cancel culture” and accountability.
• 04:27–04:46 – Closing thoughts: Prayer as the highest act of care for distant celebrities.
• 04:48–06:11 – Preston prays specifically for Kanye West, focusing on humility, support systems, mental health, and spiritual well-being.

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Closing: Call to Compassion and Prayer

The episode concludes with Preston leading a heartfelt prayer for Kanye West, calling attention to:

• The difficulties of being famous with a mental illness.
• The universal need for humility, love, and divine validation.
• A prayer for protection against despair and for supportive people in Kanye’s life.
• An encouragement for listeners to actively pray for public figures instead of simply watching their struggles unfold (04:48–06:11).

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Main Takeaway

Society—and especially Christians—must resist the urge to strip celebrities of their humanity, remembering their need for empathy and prayer. The Perrys invite us to consider both the need for accountability and the imperative to acknowledge and care for mental illness, even from a distance.

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Tone: Honest, compassionate, candid—true to the natural, insightful banter of Preston and Jackie Hill Perry.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. What up with y'?

[B]

All? So a couple seasons ago, we did a conversation or topic called Questions that Need Answers. And I think we talked about aliens.

[A]

And we talked about dinosaurs.

[B]

Dinosaurs. Just weird stuff. And so Preston brought up an idea that we wanted to turn into another question that Questions that Need Answers episode, which is the subject of Kanye west and mental health. Okay, so I'm gonna let you just.

[A]

You know, the question that I have is, why don't we treat this man like he a human being?

[B]

Okay. What makes you feel that that's not happening?

[A]

Okay, so we know Kanye west believes that he's God, gifts to, like, creation. Like, he thinks it's like, the Father, the Holy Spirit, the Jesus, and then him. We know that. Right? We know. We know he feels this way. And. And so, like, I'm not negating the fact that he's narcissistic or could be a narcissist and love talking about him, but I do think that at times, I've kind of seen Kanye west put out things out there that might be a cry for help that I feel like the world doesn't pay attention to just because he's famous. And I think that if Kanye west was our cousin or our brother, we will be more empathetic to the hurtful things that he says. And so I'm not saying that we should just totally, you know, excuse what he says, but I don't think that we. When we. When we consider him and in the headlines, like, his mental illness is not talked about enough, and I think that's problematic.

[B]

I think it's some of what we discussed in the podcast in Humanity of Celebrity, which is how celebrity kind of dehumanizes people.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Because when you brought this up a week ago, I was saying that, you know, it seems as if Kanye is no longer a human, but a spectacle.

[A]

Yeah. Right.

[B]

He's become the human being that has things or traits about himself that make him unique, can make him different and make him stand out. But it's. It's. It's kind of exposed how we just don't look at people who are different from us as if they are like us.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so. But I think practically speaking, it's not like any of us are in proximity to him to say, hey, bro, take your meds. Right. It's not like any of us are in proximity to him where we could, like, you know, give us your phone, like, stop. But what. At the very least, we could pray.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think the world. I don't really expect the world to be anything other than the world. But I think for Christians, I think it's. It's important for us to make sure that we don't treat people the way the world treats people, because I think the world has, like, this fake love and this fake remorse when something happens to a celebrity, but then the whole time, but they don't really treat them. They don't really humanize them, you know, while they're alive. You know, I mean, they. They put a camera in their face. I mean, you see, when a rapper dies, I mean, they're. They're on people's phones, you know what I'm saying? In three seconds, and then it's on. On the news. And so I think that for us, even though the. The guy might be a narcissist, even though he might be full of himself, he's still a human being who has openly expressed that he has a mental illness. And so how do we attempt to love him? Well, being that we don't know him? And I think that is to pray. You know, I'm saying not to, like, cancel him or, you know, I think that. What, you think we should cancel Kanye?

[B]

I think there. I think there's. We had a conversation about this before. I think there's always room for canceling, insofar as canceling is a function of holding someone accountable. So not canceling, like, oh, I'm never gonna listen to College Dropout ever again in my life. I'm not saying that that's not. But. But I think him.

[A]

That's not love them.

[B]

You know, him losing deals is a way of holding him accountable to his speech.

[A]

Oh, yeah, okay. Yeah, you're right. I think he should lose those deals. I was. I was actually glad. I was like, lord, I hope this draws him to repentance.

[B]

I guess. I guess we have. We have. We would have to define what. What we mean by cancer.

[A]

Yeah. To your point, I'm saying, like. Like. Like being so disappointed in everything that he does and not considering the fact that the dude has a whole mental illness.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

Because if he was our family member, we'd be like, forget my brother. He got a mental illness. But because he's Kanye who created College Dropout, we like, oh, you're letting black people down. It's like, no, the dude has a whole mental illness. And we have to just consistently remember that.

[B]

In closing, you. You're saying, contact. Kanye has a mental illness, but he is a human being, should be treated and considered and thought of as a human being and treated with the same dignity and respect that is owed to a human being. And that because we are not in proximity to Kanye, the best and most, I guess, fruitful way to serve him is to pray for him.

[A]

Yeah, pray for him.

[B]

If that's the case, you should pray.

[A]

For him right now. Dear Lord God, we, we thank you for this podcast. We thank you, God, for even landing on our heart to even talk about Kanye. I know there's a lot of talk about Kanye all the time, but if we're honest, all of us, even myself, how many times do we stop and pray for the dude? It's so hard to be that famous with a mental illness. And you're full of yourself. And so, God, I think that Kanye west needs what we all need. And. And that's the humility that only your holy spirit brings. That is your love, that is your validation. That is for him to truly believe that he was created in the image of God and that he ultimately has to find his value and acceptance in you. And so, God, I pray that when the world tries to make yeah. Just a circus act out of everything that he does, that he is surrounded around people that would point him to the cross. I pray God, against anything that the enemy might try to throw at him. Thoughts of suicide, thoughts of. Yeah, harming himself, Lord. And I just pray, God, that you would lay it on more believers hearts to not not just watch Kanye, but to pray for Kanye. And so I thank you for your grace and mercy, your love and favor. In Jesus name, amen.

[B]

Amen. And it is so peace. 30 minutes with the Perrys is a production of Ivy Media podcast edited by Angie Elkins, video recording and audio production by Kim Powell, artwork by Hop and music by Swoop. Join us on Patreon for early access to. With the Perry's episodes and other exclusives, you got two options. You can go to www.patreon.com forward/with the Perrys, or just go ahead, scroll. You'll find the link in our show notes. We are the Perrys. Thank y' all for listening. Now go with God.