On Tuesday, November 22, 2016, rapper and entrepreneur, Kanye Omari West was hospitalised at the UCLA Medical centre for psychiatric evaluation following a quite eventful weekend. On Saturday night, the 39-year-old went on a tirade in the middle of his Saint Pablo tour in Sacramento, California, after which he stormed offstage leaving fans in bewilderment. Before that, he was booed at a concert on Friday for saying he would have voted for Trump, and asking black people to stop focusing on racism. Typically, these outbursts made news headlines and caused an uproar on social media. One that eventually culminated with Kanye’s hospitalisation on Tuesday, and consequently reignited the myth of the Kardashian curse.
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The theory of the Kardashian curse is that men involved in a relationship with any of the Kardashians are destined for ruin. It posits that there are often always negative effects and consequences of dating or having some significant tie with any of the reality show queens. And just as theories have their hypothesis, postulators of the Kardashian curse use the lives of Reggie Bush, Kris Humphries, Lamar Odom, Bruce (now Caitlyn) Jenner, Scott Disick, and Kanye West, as case studies to argue their theory.
Now, there is nothing wrong in creating or coming up with theories; humans are wired to always want to find meaning or get concrete explanations for certain things that happen around them. So it would be unfair to judge people for actually coming up with a mythical explanation for whatever has happened or is ongoing with these men who have crossed paths with a Kardashian. But what is utterly ludicrous and downright annoying is the fact that quite a lot of people believe this myth is real, and are now, either consciously or otherwise, blinded to the real issue(s) at stake.
How can we reduce mental health disorders in Kanye with his random outbursts, Lamar and his drug addiction, Scott being an alcoholic, and Bruce’s gender dysphoria to the myth of a curse? The Kardashians are certainly not the most loved family out there, and quite frankly are doing very little to dispel the public’s disdain for them, but to blame these women for long existing psychological issues that a significant percent of not just Americas population, but the world, suffer, is idiotic.
https://twitter.com/heydymichelle/status/800882913361412096
Kanye’s mental health has always been in question way before he got involved with and married Kim Kardashian. The rapper has struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts since his mother’s mysterious death in 2007, something he has occasionally infused in some of his song lyrics like F.M.L and Clique. Lamar Odom, Khloe Kardashian’s estranged husband has a history of drug addiction, and have experienced several tragedies that have unfortunately possessed the better part of him. According to reports, his problems started when he was a kid having got stuck with his heroin-addict father after losing his mother at age 12. Odom has himself stated on several occasions that his father was his downfall, and also attributed whatever closure and sense of family he’s ever had to the supposedly cursed Kardashians.
Scott Disick, the on-again, off-again long term lover of Kourtney Kardashian and father of her three children is known to have always struggled with anger, alcoholism and substance abuse, although being in the spotlight might have aggravated things. However, Disick did go off the deep end after losing both parents only a few months apart. Bruce Jenner had a lifelong battle with gender identity disorder before a widely publicised transition last year. In an exclusive interview with Diane Sawyer April last year, Jenner revealed that she had been on hormone replacement therapy in the 80’s but stopped when she met Kris Kardashian in 1991. A statement that has been corroborated by the Kardashian matriarch. How then is she responsible for her former husband’s ultimate decision?
Mental health disorders, addictions, and substance abuse are REAL. They are a THING. And they frequently co-occur. But every so often, they are rarely addressed, overlooked, trivialised and, should a person be famous, meme’ed until it’s too late. And let’s not even begin to talk about gender identity disorder, a term most people are yet to reconcile themselves with. But just because you do not understand it, does not mean it isn’t so.
Addiction and substance abuse are America’s most neglected diseases. Mental disorders are among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide. And depression is itself a silent global crisis that affects about 350 million people of all ages around the world. However, what’s worse than these extensive statistics, is the general response to these issues – stigma, discrimination, and neglect. “Mental illness is not a personal failure. In fact, if there is a failure, it is to be found in the way we have responded to people with mental and brain disorders,” said Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Director-General of WHO.
Do not poke fun at Kanye’s irrational behaviour. Do not make him the subject of your dry humour, there is nothing funny about psychological illnesses, addictions, or substance abuse. Remember Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Cory Monteith?
Also, do not sit back and entertain lazily and or maliciously conceived nonsensical theories like the Kardashian curse, do well to enlighten people on the reality of these issues. The fact that these people are famous does not make them any less human.
“Where there is neglect, there is little or no understanding. Where there is no understanding, there is neglect.” – WHO
