David Letterman has taken a different approach to interviews on his Netflix show, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. Unlike his many years on the Late Show, Letterman is digging deeper during these interviews, and for the most part, the tone is a serious one.
That was the case alongside Kanye West during certain moments of the interview. In fact, according to an audience member, not every moment made it to the final cut. Controversial topics were omitted, and we'll reveal exactly what was said.
In addition, we'll take a look at what Kanye had to say about his mental health at the time, and how getting off medication helped his battle with the bipolar disorder.
An Audience Member Claims Controversial Moments Were Cut Out Of Kanye's Interview With David Letterman
As expected, there was extra controversy to come out of Kanye's interview alongside David Letterman. According to Noah Reich who was in the audience, Netflix decided to omit several points from the interview. A couple of sensitive topics caused the fans to react negatively during the interview, although neither Letterman and West reacted to it.
Insider explains the controversial moments that were apparently taken out.
"Netflix left out some key moments — including Ye victim-blaming Rihanna for being a survivor of domestic violence and saying Trump supporters were treated like Nazis."
"Ye also reportedly said he feared becoming "MeToo-ed" like an unidentified friend in the music industry. Noah Reich, an audience member at the taping, told TheWrap that Ye spoke about a powerful group within Hollywood that brought the #MeToo movement into being. Reich believed he was referring to Jewish people."
Noah Reich issued a statement himself, expressing his disappointment for the way the interview was showcased on television.
"It was shocking to see that Kanye West could share harmful alt-right beliefs, conspiracy theory after conspiracy, and misogynistic beliefs about women for the majority of the interview and end up with an edit that removed all those items in favor of celebrity fluff content," Reich told TheWrap.
What fans got instead was a completely different version, with West showing his emotional side and discussing his mental health.
Kanye West Discussed With David Letterman How Difficult His Mental Process Truly Is
Kanye West was extremely open about his bipolar struggles behind the scenes. According to the artist, he started seeing things clearer once he went off medication. Though still, it is an ongoing battle.
Kanye tells Letterman, “I feel a heightened connection with the universe when I’m ramping up,” he says. “It is a health issue that has a strong stigma on it, and people are allowed to say anything about it and discriminate in any way. This is like a sprained brain, it’s like having a sprained ankle. If someone has a sprained ankle, you’re not going to push on him more. With us, once our brain gets on the point of spraining, people do everything to make it worse. They do everything to make it worse.”
Kanye went on to reveal that although the disorder has caused issues, it has also helped to bring out his genius, especially through music.
“Yeah, that’s just the reality. If you guys want these crazy ideas, crazy stages, crazy music, and this crazy way of thinking, there’s a chance it might come from a crazy person,” West says.
The interview took many different turns throughout, with West also discussing other artists.
Kanye West And David Letterman Touched On Various Other Topics, Including The Artist's Similarities To Jay-Z
David Letterman compared Kanye's approach to Jay-Z from a creative standpoint. West did touch on the topic, he revealed that they're "both pretty self-centered in our music.” Kanye would also bring up Drake without saying his name. He said, “An artist which I will not mention because I’m not allowed to mention him or any of his family members has a line, well, we had a little beef last year,” West says.
“He has this line that I love that says, ‘I told my story and made history,’ like ‘made his story’ and ‘made history.'”
Among the other topics of conversation included Kanye's involvement with the Yeezy brand at the time, while he also discussed his mother and how his parents got a divorce a lot earlier than he anticipated. West revealed, “I thought I was three when they got divorced, but then I was watching a Behind the Music and she was like, ‘I got divorced right after I had the baby."
It turned out to be a revealing interview, and it remains to be seen if Kanye will go public with another tell-all, especially given all the controversy surrounding the artist in the recent months and year.
