Kanye West’s volatile relationship with the Kardashian family is laid bare in a new documentary that captures him shouting at Kris Jenner over his mental health treatment.
Whose Name?, which premiered in US cinemas this week after filmmaker Nico Ballesteros sifted through more than 3,000 hours of footage shot since 2018, left viewers stunned by a tense exchange between West and the mother of his ex-wife Kim Kardashian.
The film, which doesn’t have a UK release date, charts the slow breakdown of West’s marriage to Kardashian, whom he wed in 2014 and shares four children with, years before their 2021 split.
At one point West accuses Jenner of undermining him while he was on prescribed medication.
“Y’all demasculated [sic] me and made me feel like a piece of s**t,” he said across the table.
“And the only reason you got away with it is because I was medicated. I would rather be dead than be on medication.”
Jenner, visibly emotional, replies: “It doesn’t matter”, to which West, fists clenched and jumping on the spot, repeatedly shouted back, “It does matter.”
“It matters to us, and you,” Jenner said through tears. “It doesn’t matter what the internet says. It matters what we think, Ye. I love you. I don’t want you to be not perfect. I love you. And I want my daughter to love you the way you want her to love you.”
Clips of the confrontation shared on Instagram by The Shade Room prompted shock online, with many praising Jenner’s composure in the face of what some called West’s “aggressive” behaviour.
“Kris better then me I’m calling the police babes,” wrote one commenter, while another said: “Everybody in that house was way too calm after that grown man started yelling at that older woman.”
A third remarked: “Nah, dealing with Kanye had to have been the most scariest thing. Idk how the Kardashians did it !!!”
Others compared the moment to a calmer on-camera exchange West once had with comedian and SNL star Michael Che after his controversial 2018 Saturday Night Live appearance, when he donned a MAGA hat and delivered a pro-Donald Trump tirade on stage.
One noted: “See how he was so aggressive with a woman, but so calm with a man.”
West has spoken openly about his mental health struggles, revealing earlier this year on The Download podcast that he was initially misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and now believes he is autistic.
“My wife [Bianca Censori] took me to a doctor because she said, ‘Something about your personality doesn’t feel like it’s bipolar, I’ve seen bipolar before.’ And I’ve come to find that it’s really a case of autism that I have,” he said.
Reflecting on the way autism affects his thinking, he added: “Autism takes you to a Rain Man thing. Imma wear this Trump hat because I like Trump in general.’ And then when people tell you to not do it, you just get on that one point. And that’s my problem.”
