Kanye West has opened up that he has autism but was earlier misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Gatekeepers News reports that West made the disclosure on Tuesday, February 4 episode of Justin LaBoy’s The Download podcast.
West, 47, explained that he was encouraged to seek another diagnosis after he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder following his “psychiatric emergency” in 2016.
“My wife took me because she said, ‘Something about your personality doesn’t feel like it’s bipolar, I’ve seen bipolar before,'” the Yeezy founder said. “And come to find out, it’s really a case of autism that I have.”
“Autism spectrum disorder is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave,” according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
On the podcast, West acknowledged that it has been difficult for his inner circle to cope with his often erratic behavior.
“It’s so difficult for them because this is like a grown man, you can’t tell him,” the Grammy winner said. “You can’t take control of his bank account. You can’t control what I’m saying on Twitter.”
West continued. “But a lot of what was sending me into the episodes — and it’s hard … [is] the constant feeling of not being in control, spun me out of control.”
As for his previous support of President Donald Trump, West explained that he purposely chose to do the opposite of what everyone was telling him to do. “You’re like, ‘Oh man, I’m gonna wear this [Donald] Trump hat ’cause I just like Trump in general,” he said. “And when people tell you to not do it…and that’s my problem, when fans tell me to do my album a certain way, I’ll do it the opposite way.”
He confirmed that he hasn’t “taken [his] medication since I found out it wasn’t bipolar, that it wasn’t the right diagnosis,” the “Gold Digger” rapper shared on the podcast. “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.”
