The rapper responds to the genuine critique of his video, which depicts a person who looks like Davidson being kidnapped then decapitated.
A word of caution: This story includes details that readers might be disturbed by.
On Sunday, Kanye West took a stance with furious protests against his music video, which shows the artist kidnapping a man who appears similar to Pete Davidson and burying him alive from the neck down.
“Art can be therapy,” The musician said in his Instagram post. “The right to speech protects the art. Art can inspire and simplify the world. It is not a proxy for harm or illness. Any assertion that I am not a part of my art is false and has no meaning intentioned.”
He has also made his thoughts towards Davidson evident in the past few months since the comedian started with his former wife, Kim Kardashian. For example, this four-minute black-and-white music video for Eazy West, a track West had released back in January when he spoke of wanting to “beat Pete Davidson’s back.”
The video, released on the internet last week, features claymation-based imagery and The Game rapper The Game. The roses are positioned on The head of the person, who appears to be Davidson, and the animated West cuts them using scissors. Finally, we get a closer look at their face of Davidson. He appears to be crying and grieving.
I I hope Pete Davidson is OK and is secure,” one Twitter user wrote, expressing the widespread sentiment “That video is as disturbing in the extreme.”
I hope Pete Davidson is okay and has excellent security. That video is disturbing as hell
— LET IT BURN (@haniimhome) March 3, 2022
After the song by Eazy was first released and then a flurry of shady Instagram posts. In these posts, the rapper posted hilarious memes featuring himself and Davidson and more threatening posts directed at the SNL comedian that have set off alarm alarms.
“Globally, there is a growing awareness of the shocking behavior of Kanye West in his battle with Kim Kardashian, and it is our responsibility to expose the sexy behavior.” Vera House, a non-profit organization committed to ending domestic violence, tweeted on Monday.
Globally, we are witnessing the disturbing actions of @kanyewest against @KimKardashian and it is our responsibility to name this abusive behavior. 👏 #KanyeWest pic.twitter.com/k6Zv0oMZaW
— Vera House, Inc. (@VeraHouseInc) February 28, 2022
Kanye’s new music video is of him decapitating Pete Davidson. HEY! Can we stop calling actual death threats “art?”
— Jake Doolittle (@Jakedoolittle11) March 3, 2022
West has been open about his battle with bipolar disorder. So is his former wife, who demanded “compassion and understanding” towards her ex-spouse in July of 2020, as his behavior became more unpredictable. Although his behavior is something that many think is alarming, he has many supporters. “As dark as it gets beautiful, it’s stunning,” one fan wrote about the Eazy video. “He’s an artist who is expressing his sorrow.”
What’s the story behind what led to the Eazy video? Here’s a look at it.
LOL Kanye dropping this Eazy video on the day of his divorce is beautiful. As dark as it is, it’s beautiful. He’s an artist expressing his grief. If Skete can go on SNL & make a mockery of a man, he can become the joke as well. Art is subjective, it’s ok if you don’t like it ✨
— Tori Nicks 2.0 🛰 (@MajestyRia) March 2, 2022
Kanye, as well as Kim’s separation
Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Kanye West in February 2021, following over six years together. The Los Angeles judge declared Kardashian legally single on March 2, when Kanye dropped his video music for Eazy.
Pete Davidson and Kim get together.
In October 2021, Kim and Davidson were seen together on a theme park ride. Kim was a guest on Saturday Night Live a few weeks prior. In the following months, the couple would be seen having fun together, such as seeing Spider-Man There’s No Way Home and traveling to The Bahamas.
Pete Davidson publicly called Kardashian his girlfriend for the first time in November during an interview for People magazine.
Kanye West’s comments on the public record against Pete and Eazy’s release of a song
West released the track Eazy in January. 15. The song featured lyrics, “God helped me escape the wreck to beat Pete’s sexual assault,” referencing Kanye’s 2002 car accident.
In the middle of February, Kanye uploaded a photo of him and Davidson photo-hopped onto an advertisement in the movie Captain America: Civil War. He captioned the image, “The internet has still not produced a good image that shows Skete.” The artist has often called Davidson by the name of “Skete.”
Certain posts were not as amicable. On February. 13, West posted a picture of a text exchange with Davidson and wrote, “No, you’ll never get to see my kids.” The following day West posted to his Instagram fans that if they truly love his music, they ought to, after seeing Davidson, “scream at the loser with all your lungs and shout Kimye for the rest of their lives.” The posts have since been removed.
West also shared a photo of a text conversation between the two Kardashian on Instagram. The caption reads, “U have created a risky and frightening environment, and someone will be hurt, Pete, and it will be all your responsibility.” Additionally, the caption on the Instagram post, “Upon the request of my wife, please don’t do anything that physically harms Skete.”
Kanye West Eazy music video
After West cuts the roses off Pete Davidson’s body, we witness an unmarked truck full of flowers that resemble those West gave towards Kardashian during Valentine’s Day.
Some parts of the visual and theme-based dark video include footage of West holding a head that has been decapitated. The final part of the video is a line that reads, “Everyone enjoyed a happy life for the rest of their lives, and nobody was happier than Skete. You know whom.” A second panel says, “Jk, he’s fine.”
Davidson has not responded to requests for comments on Thursday, but a handful of his supporters spoke for him. “For the fact, Pete Davidson is one of the sweetest, most pleasant people I have ever met,” director James Gunn tweeted. “An extremely generous, gentle, and humorous person He is a gentleman to everyone around him. respect.”
For the record, Pete Davidson is one of the nicest, sweetest guys I know. A truly generous, tender & funny spirit, he treats everyone around him with respect.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 3, 2022