We have a Yeezus complex

When Kanye West sings “I love Kanye like Kanye loves Kanye,” he might as well be rapping about me. To my mind, no musician over the last decade has been more stimulating and more amusing than West.

I was genuinely concerned two weeks ago when West was placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold. But more than worry over his well-being, I felt a measure of disgust reading reactions online, which tended to go one of two ways: 1) sharing news of West’s episode with barely contained glee; or 2) the insipid misuse of West’s condition as a launching pad into a screed on the state of hip-hop or celebrity. The personal issues of those in the spotlight have always been fair game on social media, but our handling of a celebrity’s intimate details also extends into real life. When rumours began spreading of an imminent split between West and his wife Kim Kardashian, people began using ironic hyperbole to suggest that the dissolution of a celebrity union means the death of true love.

Deriving pleasure out of the misfortunes of someone who has never intended any ill will toward us seems like it would be the business of only the misanthropic. However, if we’re willing to extend a similar qualification – whether ill will is intended – to judge those poking fun at the expense of a celebrity, justifying our condemnation becomes a bit trickier. After all, snide remarks don’t equate a desire for harm. And multiple studies have confirmed a little bit of schadenfreude to not only be normal, but actually healthy. We might even consider muckraking to be more beneficial than harmful. Celebrities, for the most part, feel no negative effect from our derision, and you can’t really punch much higher than a multi-millionaire with cultural caché.

But slow your roll, internet troll. Multiple studies have also linked schadenfreude to low selfesteem. The more insecure you are about yourself, the more likely you are to take pleasure in someone else’s misery. Putting your problems on a larger than life figure for the sake of your own salvation sure does sound familiar. The irony here is that those most likely to mock the famous are also those most likely to be contributing to a saviour/ god complex among the likes of a Kanye West. To paraphrase mightily from Romans 4:25: He was delivered unto scorn for our own insecurities. Is it any wonder why we call him Yeezus?