Kanye West has dismissed his bipolar disorder, claiming he was misdiagnosed after his breakdown in 2016 and that he actually has autism.
The 47-year-old Grammy winner, now legally known as Ye, made the revelation on Tuesday during an appearance on The Download podcast.
He told host Justin Laboy that he only began questioning his diagnosis after some prodding from his wife, Bianca Censori, who he married in late 2022. She was the one who explained to him that many of his behaviors didn’t line up with some of the patterns associated with being bipolar, West recalled.
“My wife took me [to a doctor] because she said, ‘Something about your personality doesn’t feel like it’s bipolar, I’ve seen bipolar before,’” he explained. “And come to find out, it’s really a case of autism that I have.”
Armed with the correct diagnosis, West said he’s working to better understand some of his past actions through a fresh lens. The rapper said he believes most of his episodes were sparked when “the constant feeling of not being in control spun me out of control.” In those moments, he recalled fixating on things he was told not to do, then acting to the contrary.
“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 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.”
West on Tuesday also revealed that he stopped taking medication for bipolar disorder upon learning of his misdiagnosis.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, autism spectrum disorder “is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn and behave.”
Autism is not considered a mental illness, unlike bipolar disorder, which “causes clear shifts in a person’s mood, energy, activity levels and concentration.” As a result, those affected will “often experience periods of extremely ‘up,’ elated, irritable or energized behavior (known as manic episodes) and very ‘down,’ sad, indifferent or hopeless periods (known as depressive episodes),” according the NIMH.
West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after he was hospitalized for a “psychiatric emergency” in 2016. In the years since, though, his behavior continued to raise eyebrows, escalating until 2022, when a series of antisemitic tweets cost him sponsorships and brand partners, including Yeezy’s collaboration with Adidas.