2016 has been a rough year in the life of Pablo.
Kanye West celebrated many successes —the release of his album The Late Bloomer (2024) Full Pinoy MovieLife of Pablo, a remarkable deal inked with Adidas, multiple sold out shows across the country and a Video Vanguard award to boot.
But if you were paying any tiny bit of attention, you might have realized that it was a really awful year for West, too. We compiled all the times he sparked a feud, infuriated fans and left us all a bit confused/worried in 2016.
SEE ALSO: Kanye West basically outlined his 2020 presidential platform last nightJanuary
Beef with Wiz Khalifa
The Bizarre Year of West began when an unexpected beef between Wiz Khalifa and West sprung up on Twitter based on a ridiculous misunderstanding. While most of the tweets have been deleted, it's 2016 which means we most definitely have receipts.
When Wiz referenced "KK" in a tweet, he was talking about weed and not Kim Kardashian. West didn't get the memo until after he went on a rampage calling Wiz's music corny, accusing him of stealing his style from Kid Cudi, and unnecessarily dragging Wiz and Amber Rose's child into the mess.
Rose, who is West's ex-girlfriend, chimed in on Twitter as well with what might just be the best hashtag of 2016: #FingersInTheBootyAssBitch. Of course, he responded by yelling in a club a month later.
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February
Support for Bill Cosby
In 2015, over 50 women bravely revealed that they had been drugged and sexually assaulted by comedian Bill Cosby. Months later, West voiced his support for the alleged rapist with a simple tweet causing backlash and critique from fans.
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That one line in "Famous"
"I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that bitch famous," was the line that shaped a great deal of pop culture news for 2016. In response to the backlash, West faced for the lyrics, he turned to Twitter to clear things up.
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"First thing is I’m an artist and as an artist I will express how I feel with no censorship," he explained before saying his wife, Kim Kardashian, gave him her blessings.
But perhaps what would be the most important revelation in the Kanye/Kim/Taylor feud this year was when Yeezy disclosed that he had a phone conversation with Swift and she was OK with the line being in the song—a video that eventually leaked, courtesy of Kim.
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Cries of help to Mark Zuckerberg
Perhaps asking the founder of Facebook for financial help on Twitter is not the smartest move West has made, but he did it because, well, he's Kanye.
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After admitting that he was $53 million in debt—and proud of it—he opened up on Twitter to publicly ask for assistance before later distinguishing his debt as failed investments in the fashion world (his wife did rake in millions of dollars from a mobile game).
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Saturday Night Live tantrum
On the night of his album release, West was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Before the show, West threatened to not perform because of stage issues with the stage -- "that and Taylor Swift, fake ass," he said.
"I went through six years of this fucking shit," he said. "Are they fucking crazy?" he exclaimed, before comparing himself to influential figures like Apostle Paul and Stanley Kubrick.
June: "Famous" music video
The controversial music video for "Famous" did nothing to fan the flames that erupted when listeners heard that Swift line. In fact, things got a bit worse for West after the video dropped.
The video shows George Bush, Donald Trump, Bill Cosby, Anna Wintour, Caitlyn Jenner, Kanye, Kim, Ray J, Chris Brown, Rihanna and more—all naked in bed together (many with whom West has had a not-so-pleasant history).
While some said it was a commentary on fame and celebrity cult, others (ie. Lena Dunham) scrutinized West for the creepy, violating and voyeuristic nature of the video.
September
Casting Call for Yeezy Season 4
There has been a history of biases in the fashion industry when it comes to casting for shows. When the call for models was released for West's Season 4 collection, the qualifier of "multiracial women only" had many up in arms.
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Fans were outraged and protested, calling West out on what they believed was "colorism," or preference and prejudice over darker skin tones. West responded in Vogue, saying he did not mean to exclude anyone in the casting call.
"How do you word the idea that you want all variations of black?," he asked.
The actual Yeezy Season 4 show
Dehydrated models, a brutal New York summer day and broken heels are definitely not elements of a successful fashion show. Yeezy Season 4 had a host of problems, including a delayed start time of almost two hours, faltered steps on the runway and water bottles being passed out to exhausted models during the show.
Via GiphyThe short-lived Kid Cudi feud
Before checking into rehab, Kid Cudi left us all with a lesson on loyalty. In a series of tweets, the rapper and long-time West collaborator was not afraid to call out rappers like Ye and Drake alongside other "haters" in the industry.
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West seemed genuinely saddened by the remarks and was not afraid to voice his feelings about it.
"I'm so hurt. I feel so disrespected. Kid Cudi, we're two black men in a racist world. I wore skinny jeans first," he said in the middle of a concert. "I got called names before you, bruh. Why y'all got to come at me?”
Cudi recently showed up on stage with West, so thankfully it seems like things have settled down between the two of them since the September comments.
October
The Meadows and Kim Kardashian's traumatic burglary
The inaugural weekend of The Meadows music festival was cut short when West abruptly left the stage in the middle of performing "Heartless." Turns out, Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in Paris, marring the show and the rest of the Saint Pablo tour.
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West immediately cancelled subsequent tour dates, eventually cancelling the entirety of the tour.
November
Trump, Beyoncé and Jay-Z remarks
Before a string of shows were cancelled, West faced the wrath of supporters after publicly announcing his support for president-elect Donald Trump and telling black people to stop focusing on racism.
In a similar stream of consciousness a few days later, West called out Beyoncé for leveraging her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards with the top prize.
"Beyoncé, I was hurt," West said. "I heard that you said you wouldn’t perform unless you won Video of the Year over me and ‘Hotline Bling.'"
West's relationship with Jay-Z on the other hand has gone through the public ringer this year too, and he has now called out his former collaborator multiple times for not answering his phone or letting their children play together.
While Yeezy spent the beginning of this year helping promote streaming service Tidal, owned by Jay-Z), it wasn't too long before West fired off tweets suggesting Apple buy out the streaming service and shed a bit of light on the war waging between the two companies.
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It might do us all a world of good if Ye can take some time off, spend some time with his family, learn how to communicate better and maybe try to practice what he preaches.
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