SCHS students express their thoughts on Kanye West

Ellen Vu|December 14, 2022

Students share mixed opinions on the controversy that led to Kanye West’s downfall.

Celebrity Kanye West faced many consequences after receiving backlash from the public for his antisemetic comments on top of calling out his brand partnerships. An influential figure among a wide audience, West has gained attention across the media. Some SCHS students weigh in on the discussion regarding his music and online persona.

Freshman Francis Hidalgo discovered West from Spotify. Despite being a fan of his music, Hidalgo believes West’s scandals are inexcusable and are the consequences of his own actions.

“Honestly, some of his stuff is messed up, and his career is kind of falling apart because he can’t shut his mouth,” Hidalgo said. “I get First Amendment rights and all that, but everything he’s saying is very immoral.”

West’s former relationship with Kim Kardashian plays a significant part to his reputation as his family was ideal to his image. Hidalgo believes West’s family will be deeply affected by his current actions.

“I think his ex-wife is probably trying to hide the way the internet is displaying him,” Hidalgo said. “When his kids find this (West’s scandals), they’re probably going to hate him.”

Senior Hrishita Malhotra was skeptical of the motives behind West’s insensitive comments. She is disapproving of his recent controversies, previous racist scandals and the rumors surrounding his last relationship.

“There’s some influential or popular celebrities who say controversial and very bad things in order to gain a more public appearance,” Malhotra said. “I think it’s the people around him as well that can have an influence on what he’s saying.”

Malhotra views West as a complicated person due to his unhinged ways. While she disagrees with what he stands for, Malhotra was unsure if his behavior had all been a publicity stunt or was West’s true self.

“In some cases, he could be serious and express what he wants to say,” Malhotra said. “In other cases, he might do it for the humorous factor because he’s been doing it for so long.”

Unlike Malhotra, sophomore Matthew Chan believes West was rightfully voicing his own opinions. Chan mentioned that West’s family, especially his children, may not like the man he has turned out to be. According to Chan, West will continue to say whatever he believes in without thinking twice.

“I feel like he is a strong person emotionally and mentally as well because of the stuff he says,” Chan said. “He’s really persistent and committed to saying this type of stuff.”

Many students acknowledge that West’s actions deserved the consequences he faced despite being fans or haters of the rapper. His large role in the music industry gave his disrespectful remarks more effect toward the different communities he attacked.

“As a celebrity as Mr. West is, you should at least have a good public image to be respected by your fans,” Chan said. “But if you say some pretty controversial stuff, many people are gonna disagree with you, and they’re going to question why they really follow you.”