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Kanye West says he was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder, claiming on popular podcast The Download that he actually has autism.
On the Tuesday, February 4 episode of Justin LaBoy’s The Download podcast, West, 47, explained that he was encouraged to seek another diagnosis after he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder following his “psychiatric emergency” in 2016.
“My wife took me because she said, ‘Something about your personality doesn’t feel like it’s bipolar, I’ve seen bipolar before,'” the Yeezy founder said. “And come to find out, it’s really a case of autism that I have.”
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Per the National Institute of Mental Health, “Autism spectrum disorder is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave.” VeryWell Health states that ASD (autism spectrum disorder) is a “neurodevelopmental disorder … it is not a mental illness.”
Bipolar disorder, per the NIMH, is defined as “a mental illness that causes clear shifts in a person’s mood, energy, activity levels, and concentration,” noting that those with the disorder “often experience periods of extremely ‘up,’ elated, irritable, or energized behavior (known as manic episodes) and very ‘down,’ sad, indifferent, or hopeless periods (known as depressive episodes).”
On the podcast, West acknowledged that it has been difficult for his inner circle to cope with his often erratic behavior.
“It’s so difficult for them because this is like a grown man, you can’t tell him,” the Grammy winner said. “You can’t take control of his bank account. You can’t control what I’m saying on Twitter.”
West continued. “But a lot of what was sending me into the episodes — and it’s hard … [is] the constant feeling of not being in control, spun me out of control.”
As for his previous support of President Donald Trump, West explained that he purposely chose to do the opposite of what everyone was telling him to do. “You’re like, ‘Oh man, I’m gonna wear this [Donald] Trump hat ’cause I just like Trump in general,” he said. “And when people tell you to not do it…and that’s my problem, when fans tell me to do my album a certain way, I’ll do it the opposite way.”
As for how his life has changed since being diagnosed with autism, West — who previously revealed he was not taking his bipolar medication pre-ASD diagnosis — confirmed that he hasn’t “taken [his] medication since I found out it wasn’t bipolar, that it wasn’t the right diagnosis,” the “Gold Digger” rapper shared on the podcast. “It’s finding stuff that doesn’t block the creativity, obviously that’s what I bring to the world. It’s worth the ramp up, as long as y’all get the creativity.”
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West’s behavior has made headlines for years — calling out everyone from the Kardashian family (he shares four children with ex-wife Kim Kardashian) to Kardashian’s then-boyfriend Pete Davidson. After his antisemitic comments went viral in 2022, he ignited fury from celebrities, the public, and major brands (including his longstanding partnership with Adidas).
Davidson, for his part, not only urged West to take his medication at the time, he also noted that having a mental illness is not an excuse to post problematic opinions.
“No shame in the medicine game. I’m on them. It’s great. Take them. There’s nothing wrong with taking [medicines],” the Saturday Night Live star said on the show at the time.
“Being mentally ill is not an excuse to act like a jack***, OK?” he added.
