Kim Kardashian West has released a statement addressing the mental health of husband Kanye West, asking for compassion and empathy as his family deal with his bipolar journey.

Kardashian took to Instagram to share her first public comment on the musician’s illness, following Kanye’s announcement that he would be running for U.S. President in the 2020 election.

Kanye’s presidential campaign has raised concerns about the musician’s mental health. Following the July 4th announcement, Ye took part in a bizarre four-hour Forbes interview that saw him make a slew of outlandish claims. Including that he had coronavirus —which he branded “the mark of the beast”— and that American toothpaste and deodorant “affect our ability to be of service to God.”

He also hosted his first presidential rally that saw him break down into tears while discussing abortion, and claim that abolitionist Harriet Tubman “never actually freed the slaves, she just had them work for other white people.”

Kim Kardashian West wrote, “As many of you know, Kanye has bi-polar disorder. Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand,

“I understand Kanye is subject to criticism because he is a public figure and his actions at times can cause strong opinions and emotions.

“He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artist and a Black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bi-polar disorder. Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times [sic] do not align with his intentions.

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“Living with bi-polar disorder does not diminish or invalidate his dreams and his creative ideas, no matter how big or unobtainable they may feel to some. That is part of his genius and as we have all witnessed, many of his big dreams have come true.”

Kardashian went on to acknowledge that although the concept of mental health is treated with grace, that compassion is often not extended to individuals in the spotlight living through the throes of mental illness.

“We as a society talk about giving grace to the issue of mental health as a whole, however we should also give it to the individuals who are living with it in times when they need it most. I kindly ask that the media and public give us the compassion and empathy that is needed so that we can get through this. Thank you for those who have expressed concern for Kanye’s well being and for your understanding.”

West has been outspoken about his bipolar diagnosis in the past. Notably, the cover art for his 2018 record Ye read, “I hate being Bi-Polar its awesome.” In album track ‘Yikes’, Yeezy refers to his diagnosis as a “superpower”.

During an interview with David Letterman for the Netflix show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, West delved further into his experience with bipolar. Detailing that he believes the condition enables him to better express his personality.

“What I want to say about the bipolar thing is because it has the word ‘bi’ in it, it has the idea of, like, split personality. Well, that works for me because I’m a Gemini, but when you ramp up, it expresses your personality more,” he said.

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