Have the wheels come off completely? It’s a question that has to be asked, given Kanye West’s (now known as Ye) recent behaviour.
Since news broke of Kim Kardashian’s blossoming romance with comedian Pete Davidson, who has been welcomed into the Kardashian fold, he’s become unstable, irrational and, for lack of a better word, uncontrollable.
Gosh, his stalkerish ways makes Joe Goldberg (“You”) look like a choir boy.
At first, he tried to get even with short-lived romances with Irina Shayk and, more recently, Julia Fox.
Then he went viral for a video he posted, ranting about not getting an invite to his daughter Chicago’s shared birthday party with her cousin Stormi. He was later given the address by Travis Scott and, when he arrived, was welcomed by Kylie Jenner.
Just as the dust on that outburst settled, it was revealed that he purchased a home across the street from his estranged wife.
And he recently took potshots at Pete - as well as several stars - while also trying to woo Kim on Valentine’s Day by flooding her with a dropoff of red roses.
By the way, he started following Pete on Instagram after his rant.
Even with everything he has going on with his career, including his docu-series 'Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy' dropping on Netflix, Kanye continues to publicly harass Kim.
The social media influencer, well-versed in the dos and don’ts of PR101, refused to be baited into responding to his allegations. But she might be forced to take action soon.
More so, with Kanye breaking the circle of trust, which, admittedly, has been hanging on by a thread, when he made public private messages between Kim and him. It’s since been deleted and he has apologised but the damage is done.
We live in times where mental illness is taken seriously. If that is the case, as has been in the past with his public meltdowns, Kanye needs to get help.
But his behaviour of late paints him as a perpetrator - and one who needs to be stopped.
A recent post by Facebook user Jacalyn Wetzel summed it up perfectly when she outlined the tell-tale signs of gender-based violence.
She wrote: “When the news of Kanye purchasing a house across the street from Kim hit, I honestly thought nothing of it. In today’s world of co-parenting, many parents who choose to separate often live close together in an effort to maintain a more cohesive front. It was not strange to me. In fact, it would fall in line with the way the Kardashian’s have co-parented with their children’s fathers.
“I commend Kanye for wanting to be present in the lives of his children, and through what we can see from the outside looking in, he has always seemed to be a present involved parent. That’s where the praise ends.
“What Kanye is displaying now is disturbing and concerning. While I won’t speculate on any sort of mental health condition, nor will I blame his behaviors on one as mental health is not an excuse for abuse.
“Abuse does not always involve hitting or threatening to hit someone. Abuse comes in many forms, and the world is witnessing abusive behavior in real time. Bombarding someone with grand gestures when they’ve asked you to leave them alone is a form of harassment.
“Attempting to sabotage a former partner’s relationship because you want them back is abusive. Sharing private conversations publicly, especially after they’ve asked you not to is abusive.
“This is not some love story where a guy goes to his ex-girlfriends house holding a boom box on top of his head in an effort to show how much he loves her. This is a display of mental and emotional abuse in an effort to force someone back into a relationship.
“This is not OK. This is not normal. This is not entertainment.
“This is a man who has endless amounts of money and influence, which afford him the means to publicly abuse his estranged wife in front of the world. The way you feel about Kim Kardashian should not matter.
“No one deserves to be abused.No one deserves to be publicly humiliated. No one deserves to be treated the way she is being treated.
“What we could very well be witnessing is the escalation phase before a violent act. Victims of domestic violence know this escalation well, and this is likely not only triggering for them, but terrifying. If you’ve experienced domestic violence and this display of abuse is triggering for you, I’m sorry.
“I’m so sorry you have to relive your trauma through watching this unfold. I’m so sorry that you may not feel safe witnessing this.
“You are worthy of so much more and deserve to feel safe in your own home scrolling through your social media feeds.
“Please step away from the internet. Please take care of you. Please protect your peace and respect your boundaries.”
Will Kanye get help? Will he back down and let Kim live her life? Only time will tell. But right now, the red flags are hard to ignore.