Radio presenter Charlamagne tha God says people are "not being empathetic" enough to Kanye West following the rapper's increasingly unusual behavior and transformation into a Trump-loving conservative.
The author and Breakfast Club host was a guest on BuzzFeed News' newest episode of Profile on Sunday, and spoke openly and at length about mental health, including his own experiences. When the conversation moved to the topic of West — and his recent trip to the White House — Charlamagne said he thought critics of the rapper were "wack" and "hypocrites" for kicking someone who he said appeared to be at their lowest point.
"I think we’re all wack and we’re all hypocrites. I think we all contradict ourselves because we see a guy sitting there, screaming that he may have mental health issues, but everyone wants to cancel him," he told Profile host Audie Cornish. "They’re not being empathetic to the fact that he really may be going through some things."
Charlamagne then joked, "Yo, I think everybody supporting Donald Trump is dealing with some type of mental health issue."
The radio and TV personality said he wished people on social media wouldn't put "so much stock" in West's recent political commentary.
"I can't even take anything that he's saying serious. He's clearly telling us that something is wrong," said Charlamagne. "So it's like, why are we putting so much stock in anything that's coming out of his mouth when he's telling us something is wrong?"
Instead, Charlamagne said people should encourage the rapper to seek "help," especially when West has said that he was not taking prescribed medication. (West revealed earlier this year that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder; however, the rapper later claimed during a meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office that it was a misdiagnosis.)
"We should be saying, 'Go get that brother some help; go get that sister some help,'" Charlamagne said.
Representatives for West did not respond to a request for comment.
Charlamagne also explained why he decided to cancel his own interview with the rapper following his high-profile visit to the White House.
He said he wanted the sit-down between the two of them to be a candid chat about mental health, and he felt the timing of the Trump meeting would have capsized the importance and intimacy of that kind of conversation.
"I think it's very powerful to have two black men talk about mental health," he said.
"I’m like, Yeah, I don’t think now would be the time to have the conversation," Charlamagne said. "He has some things he still needs to figure out. Plus, I thought it would be a distraction."
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