Kanye West’s behaviour towards his ex-wife Kim Kardashian has been branded “erratic” and “concerning” by a psychologist.
The singer has been accused of a prolonged campaign of public harassment against Kardashian and her new partner Pete Davidson, and was recently banned from both the Grammys and Instagram, the latter for allegedly violating the social media platform’s hate speech and bullying policies.
Before the ban West shared personal text messages on social media, belittling Kardashian’s parenting, outwardly threatening Davidson, and posted an escalating string of critical memes.
In screenshots of one of the private chats Kim asks him to stop “creating a dangerous environment”.
It is certainly intended to menace which is misdirected and unlikely to achieve any outcomes which he appears to be seeking.
Christopher Hay, a registered psychologist who specialises in adult mental health, said he is concerned about West’s behaviour.
“I do find it concerning, particularly the degree of erratic behaviour and the level of disinhibition in the content of his posting,” he told Central News.
“I cannot comment on whether it is cyber bullying, however, it is certainly intended to menace which is misdirected and unlikely to achieve any outcomes which he appears to be seeking.”
Dr Hay believes it is not so much his celebrity status that has allowed him to get away with the behaviour up to a point, but his financial wealth which enables him to defend himself legally against any potential prosecution.
“He certainly needs to be held accountable for his social media content and the harm it may cause to many people,” Dr Hay said.
Despite the social media attacks on Kardashian, Instagram only acted after West allegedly left a racial slur on Daily Show host Trevor Noah’s Instagram page. Hours later he was suspended from Instagram for “24 hours” for using “hate speech”, however his account remains inactive.
As a society we have to ask ourselves: do we wish to stand by and watch a car crash when we thought we saw it coming.
The impetus was Noah’s show segment on March 15 where he called out Kanye’s actions. After sharing his own family trauma of domestic violence in the recent segment, Noah said it’s the story of his own mum that makes him look at Kim Kardashian’s harassment differently.
“I’m not saying Kanye will [do something]. And I’m not saying Kanye is just a bad guy,” he told the audience. “But as a society we have to ask ourselves: do we wish to stand by and watch a car crash when we thought we saw it coming or do we go ‘hey slow down, let’s put our hazards on because there is a storm right now’.
“You may not feel sorry for Kim because she’s rich and famous, but what she’s going through is terrifying to watch and shines a spotlight on what so many women go through when they choose to leave.”
It was confirmed West’s performance has been pulled from the upcoming Grammy Awards due to his “concerning online behaviour” and his feud with Noah, who is this year’s host.
Main image by Bugzy Talor/Flickr
If you have suffered bullying or harassment and need someone to talk to you can call one of these 24-hour services:
Lifeline: 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 or suicidecallbackservice.org.au
beyondblue: 1300 224 636 or beyondblue.org.au
