Halsey Told Fans Not To Joke About Kanye's Mental Health & She's So Right
On Monday, July 20, Kanye West tweeted and then deleted a series of tweets that called out Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner for trying to have him "locked up" following his controversial presidential campaign rally in Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday, July 19. Some fans showed genuine concern for the star (who confirmed in 2019 that he has bipolar disorder) regarding his posts, but others used the moment to make unnecessary jokes about West. Seeing this take shape all over Twitter, Halsey tweeted asking fans not to joke about Kanye West's mental health because bipolar disorder is something real people live with every day.
West's tweets came just a day after he raised eyebrows at his Charleston campaign rally. During his speech, he discussed a variety of controversial topics, like his anti-abortion and anti-gun-control stances. West's tweets posted the following night suggested that his comments — particularly a story about how he and Kardashian considered aborting their oldest daughter, North, in the early days of her pregnancy — left his family feeling concerned.
"Kim was trying to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to lock me up like on the movie Get Out because I cried about saving my daughters life yesterday," West wrote, and then deleted, on July 20.
After West's tweets, some people made inappropriate jokes about his diagnosis. West once claimed his bipolar disorder diagnosis was actually a misdiagnosis during a White House meeting with Donald Trump in October 2018. Later, in a May 2019 episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman, West acknowledged he had bipolar disorder. "It’s a health issue that has a strong stigma on it and people are allowed to say anything about it and discriminate in any way," he told Letterman at the time.
Seeing how so many users found West's posts "entertaining," Halsey told fans this was serious and nothing to poke fun at. "No jokes right now," Halsey wrote. "I have dedicated my career to offering education and insight about bipolar disorder and I’m so disturbed by what I’m seeing. Personal opinions about someone aside, a manic episode isn't a joke. If you can’t offer understanding or sympathy, offer your silence."
Halsey, who has been open about having bipolar disorder throughout her career, went on to explain to fans that "a lot of people" they know may have bipolar disorder but may not feel comfortable speaking about it, and using West's tweets as an opportunity to make offensive remarks about his diagnosis will only further make them feel like they aren't accepted.
"You can hate someone’s actions or opinions without contributing to stigma that damages an entire community of sometimes vulnerable people all for a couple of laughs," Halsey wrote. "Sincerely, Human Being with a Decade Long Bipolar Diagnosis."
Kardashian and Jenner have yet to address West's tweets publicly. After West deleted his tweets, he announced he was going back to music and teased a new album is coming on Friday, July 24.
