Kanye West suggests Jewish doctor may have wanted to kill him

The rapper said his mental health issues were ‘misdiagnosed’ by a Jewish doctor, and that he could have ended up like Michael Jackson and Prince

Kanye West attends the Givenchy Spring-Summer 2023 fashion show during the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week, Oct. 2, 2022. Photo by Julien de Rosa/AFP via Getty Images

By Benyamin Cohen October 30, 2022

Kanye West, who has previously said he has bipolar disorder, told paparazzi on Friday night that his mental health issues were “misdiagnosed” by a Jewish doctor who “would have had me on medication.”

West, whose legal name is now Ye, also seemed to suggest that a Jewish doctor might want to kill him.

“If I was on medication right now, then one pill could’ve been swapped out and it would be Michael Jackson and Prince all over again,” West said, referring to two legendary Black singers who both died because of overdoses to prescription medicine. “Because I didn’t take the medication, I am able to speak to you guys clear of thought and transparently.”

The rapper then pulled out his phone to show the photographers what he said was a spreadsheet listing of high-level media executives who are Jewish.

Watch the interaction below:

Kanye West continues his anti-Jewish tirade, discussing how a Jewish doctor intentionally misdiagnosed him & could have killed him.

He then rants again about Jews controlling entertainment and media, insinuating that the number of Jews in this profession is problematic. pic.twitter.com/N2qyoNe8fM
— Ari Ingel (@OGAride) October 30, 2022

The unfounded accusations and conspiratorial talk is the latest development in three weeks of antisemitic tirades by West that have sparked international condemnation. Since he tweeted Oct. 9 that he would go “death con 3 on Jewish people,” number of corporations have severed ties with him, including his record label, Def Jam; the Creative Artists Agency, and the sneaker company Adidas,

West showed up uninvited to Skechers headquarters in Southern California, where executives at the shoe brand escorted him off the campus. The episode became fodder for a parody Skechers commercial on “Saturday Night Live.”

This weekend, a mural of West in his hometown of Chicago was covered in black paint; only a silhouette of him remained visible. It was not immediately clear who changed the mural, but its original artist, Jason Peterson, shared a picture of it on Instagram with the caption, “We need better role models.”

very crazy i’m witnessing this right now.. they’re painting over the kanye mural in chicago pic.twitter.com/xC3xKDkFV7
— ? (@RuTheTailor) October 26, 2022

And several antisemitic messages appeared throughout Jacksonville, Fla., over the weekend, including a sign declaring “End Jewish supremacy in America” on a highway overpass. At TIAA Bank Field where the Georgia-Florida college football game took place, “Kanye is right about the Jews” scrolled a cross a video screen.

Benyamin Cohen is news director at the Forward. He is the author of two books, My Jesus Year and The Einstein Effect, and has written for The New York Times and The Washington Post. He lives with his wife in West Virginia with their three dogs, a cat and a flock of chickens known as the Co-Hens.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO