Kanye West announces he has been diagnosed as autistic

Rapper and fashion designer says he was misdiagnosed as bipolar

Kanye West said the diagnosis helped him better understand some of his behavioural patterns.

Kanye West has said he was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder, and has now been diagnosed as autistic.

Speaking to Justin Laboy on his podcast The Download, West, who now goes by the name Ye, said his wife Bianca Censori suggested he get rediagnosed. 

“I went to this doctor … My wife took me to do that because she said, ‘Something about your personality doesn’t feel like it’s bipolar, I’ve seen bipolar before.’ And I’ve come to find that it’s really a case of autism that I have.” 

He said the diagnosis helped him better understand some of his behavioural patterns, such as in 2018 when he wore a cap reading Make America Great Again and praised Donald Trump, including saying “the mob can’t make me not love him”.

“Autism takes you to a Rain Man thing,” West said. “‘I’ma wear this Trump hat because I like Trump in general.’ And then when people tell you to not do it, you just get on that one point. And that’s my problem.

“When fans tell me to do my album a certain way, I’ll do it the opposite way,” he added, and referred to the title of his hit song 'Can’t Tell Me Nothing'. 

He mentioned his friend and former manager Don C, saying: “It’s been so hard on him because he loves me. It’s so difficult for them, because this is like a grown man — you can’t take control of his bank account, you can’t control what I’m saying on Twitter.” 

Mental health

Autism is not a mental illness. But in 2020 Kim Kardashian, then West’s wife, similarly acknowledged the difficulty of managing West’s mental health.

“Those that understand mental illness or even compulsive behaviour know that the family is powerless unless the member is a minor. People who are unaware or far removed from this experience can be judgmental and not understand that the individual themselves have to engage in the process of getting help no matter how hard family and friends try.” 

West himself referred to his diagnosed bipolar disorder in numerous tracks, while the cover of his 2018 album ye features the jokey words: “I hate being Bi-Polar it’s awesome”.

West said: “A lot of what was sending me into those episodes … the constant feeling of not being in control spun me out of control,” citing the breakdown of his deal with Adidas, which ended its lucrative collaboration with the musician in 2022 after he made a series of antisemitic remarks.

West said he no longer takes medication for his mental health; as autism is not an illness, it is not medicated. “I haven’t taken the medication since I found out that bipolar wasn’t the right diagnosis. 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.” 

He said he is watchful for episodes of poor mental health. 

“I watch for it beforehand — but if you get to the point it goes, you’re going to stay in that position for a while. It might go for three days, four days, a week. Some people if they get into it, you’ve got to put them in a place that’s not in public.”

The Guardian