‘Fears’ for Kanye
KANYE West canceled 21 tour dates in 2016 after suffering a “nervous breakdown,” but there are new fears for his health after he abruptly fired manager Scooter Braun and a “friend” claimed West had been addicted to opioids. On Monday, Hot 97 host Ebro Darden told listeners that he had spoken with West over the weekend, and West allegedly told him, “Nobody really showed love for me when I was addicted to opioids and in the hospital.” If West had actually canceled the tour due to drug use, it could have legal ramifications. He filed a 2017 $10 million lawsuit against insurers Lloyd’s of London, claiming they were refusing to pay for his lost dates and citing his marijuana use as an excuse. The insurer finally caved in and agreed to pay most of what was due to cover the lost tour dates. Lawyers for Lloyd’s didn’t return calls for comment Tuesday. Meanwhile, a source close to West tells Page Six they were “doubtful” he was hospitalized for opioid use and “disappointed” Darden made those claims on-air. West sources had said at the time of the 2016 breakdown that it was due to the death of his mom, the stress of juggling his fashion line and the tour, and acute sleeplessness and paranoia. West dramatically just fired Braun and others in his inner circle — despite having recently announced five new albums on Twitter — with sources spreading rumors online that those cast out were “very worried for Yeezy’s mental health” and that he could be suffering from “another episode.” West hired Braun, who also reps Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, a couple of years ago. Braun took a larger role in March after West’s longtime manager, Izvor “Izzy” Zivkovic, stepped down. While Braun and a rep for West didn’t comment, the first source explained, “Kanye has been saying he wants to bring all representation in-house, and that extends to his managers. His mentality is, ‘I can’t be someone’s client. I have to represent myself.’ He’s clearing house. Scooter remains in an advisory role.” Since returning to Twitter, West has been raising eyebrows with a series of peculiar tweets. On Tuesday, he wrote, “to be great is to be misunderstood” as well as, “dragon energy/Natural born leaders/Very instinctive/Great foresight.” He also drew some ire by praising a noted right-wing commentator, saying, “I love the way Candace Owens thinks.”