Kim, Pete & Kanye's Relationship Turmoil Isn't Funny

Chris Redd from SNL has it right, what’s going on with Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson and Kanye West is no laughing matter.

Photo: Unsplash

For those unaware, Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from her now ex-husband Kanye in February 2021 marking the end of a seven year marriage. March of that same year is when Kim confirmed her new relationship with Pete Davidson on Instagram. In the face of Kim’s new relationship, Kanye West took to social media to speak out taking several jabs at Pete in the process. Notably, Kanye released his song “Eazy” and its accompanying stop motion style music video featuring a claymation Pete figure that is kidnapped, tied up, decapitated and buried.

Photo: The Game, Kanye West - Eazy (Official Music Video)

Photo: The Game, Kanye West - Eazy (Official Music Video)

According to People Magazine, a source reported that Kim was furious about the video and believed it to be too violent and that she wanted the upheaval to come to an end. Most importantly, the source noted that Kim’s main concern is that her children are protected from everything that is playing out and that what is occurring is “inappropriate and wrong”. “Wrong” is a running theme here in many regards.

Essentially, you have the issue of divorce, which alone can be a difficult process for a family, but when you throw in the scrutiny of the public eye as well as harmful and negative discourse and character assassination, the potential problems are amplified.

In an ideal world, matters like these would be dealt with behind closed doors as opposed to being laid bare for the world to see. This is because this situation isn’t simply a triad between Pete, Kim and Kanye. In reality, the issue extends far beyond, affecting and potentially harming Kim and Kanye’s children and their extended family. It is one thing to deal with the aftermath of a divorce and an entirely different thing to deal with a battery of additional and very public complications.

To this point, Chris Redd, one of Pete’s SNL co-stars chimed in on the issue noting that “it’s not interesting to…stir the pot on something that is just unhealthy…” and I concur. Deciding to make light of situations like this only lends itself to desensitization and the ignoring of the potential for harm, whether that harm applies to Kim, Pete, Kanye or their relations. Cracking jokes rather than expressing appropriate concern could lead to negative escalations being viewed as “harmless,” and the potential consequences of this (such as harassment or poor mental health being swept under the rug) are grand.

In recent years, the public consciousness has become aware of and has spoken out against toxic and sensationalized coverage that comes at the expense of human beings. The #FreeBrittney movement which mobilized in support of Brittney Spears due to the conservatorship she was in the midst of and the mental anguish she faced on account of toxic media and paparazzi is a perfect example. In this instance, people bound together to turn sensationalism on its head. They reproached the way the media made mockery of instances of mental anguish such as Brittney’s shaved head (caused by a mental breakdown) and demanded that her mental health be taken seriously. That she was to be recognized and valued as a human being.

So I then inquire, why can the same not be done here? As Chris Redd noted, this is a pot best left unstirred. As opposed to trudging down the same sorrow path of mockery and disparagement, why not view and comment upon the issue in a way that is respectful and considerate? Why crack jokes about something that is a source of hurt on many sides? Why laugh at a matter that can negatively impact children and extended family? Why egg on behavior or “expression” that could be indicative of mental distress like some of the worrying imagery seen in the “Eazy” music video?

In the end, we should strive for good. We should engage in discourse that is conducive to a positive outcome. Joking about, bastardizing the gravity of and escalating negative situations is not the way to do that.