Kanye West was profoundly affected by the fall-out following his stage invasion at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, insisting it was one of the factors that led to his 2016 breakdown.
West spent nine days at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center in November, 2016, when he was admitted for a mental evaluation after reportedly suffering from exhaustion and sleep deprivation, and he is now revealing his struggles stemmed from a number of issues in his life.
“I think I’m in a stronger place than I ever was after the breakdown, or I like to say the breakthrough,” he tells U.S. radio host Charlamagne Tha God in a new interview. “(It was caused by) fear, stress, being controlled, manipulation, being a pawn in a chess piece of life, stressing things that create validation, the concept of competition, so many elements at one time…”
Kanye also reveals he agonised over the fact his behaviour at the VMAs in 2009, as he protested Taylor Swift’s Best Female Video honour, had affected his radio play.
“Ever since the Taylor Swift moment, it just had never been the same, the connection with radio,” he adds. “The radio element was just one of the factors…”
Kanye also reveals he tries to stay sane by using the people around him to help him through any struggles he is experiencing in his life.
“I use the world as my therapist,” he says. “Anyone I talk to is my therapist. I will pull them into the conversation of what I’m feeling at that point and get their perspective… I like just talking to acquaintances, friends, family, and I keep them on the phone for 45 minutes at a time, talking through things.”
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