This Week in Gossip (April 12)

Kanye West Faces Actual Consequences for Once in His Life

When Kanye West was announced as the headliner for the Wireless Festival in London, I wasn’t surprised. The industry has been itching to welcome back this loser with open arms, and his weaksauce “I’m sorry for all the Nazi stuff, that wasn’t my fault” apology gave them an opportunity to bring back a major moneymaker. His recent sold out gigs in Los Angeles also prove that his fanbase never deserted him (of course Dave Chappelle was there too. Gross little man.) What proved more surprising was the speed with which sponsors and the British government pushed back. West was banned from entering the UK. Pepsi dropped out of sponsoring Wireless. And now, the entire festival is cancelled. That’s some real “throwing the baby out with the bathwater” stuff.

Kanye fans are a different breed of deluded, man. They fell over themselves to justify years’ of cruelty and bigotry, including the Nazi stuff, and now they think his apology is a “get out of jail free” card to harass people who don’t think he’s being genuine in his contrition (I certainly don’t think he is.) And anyway, he hasn’t apologized for his years of misogyny, or for siding with Sean Combs and Bill Cosby, or for cavorting with Andrew Tate, or for making a music video where he threatened to kill his ex-wife’s then-boyfriend, or for saying slavery was a choice.

I’m sure West has had a rotten time with his mental health. Bipolar is a cruel beast that can drastically change your personality beyond recognition. He’s clearly struggled for a long time and been aided by a lot of Yes men (and, allegedly, one crooked dentist with a ton of nitrous oxide). I hope he is truly penitent and wants to change. But there’s a reason so few people actually believe that. Why change when he’s been so thoroughly rewarded for not doing so? That Wall Street Journal “apology” was pathetic, and the idea that we should go, “well, he’s done the bare minimum so let’s throw more money his way” is exhausting.

We also haven’t confronted the rotten heart of the problem here: that a hell of a lot of people loved Nazi Kanye and financially rallied around it in a big way. He’s never stopped being a major seller and streaming hit, for one.

Maybe Kanye thinks he isn’t a Nazi, but all the Nazis certainly believe he is. And they're still cheering him on from the cheap seats.

Lindy West’s Book Reportedly Only Sells 3,000 Copies (Leave Him!)

If you’re into my work then I’m going to guess you’ve probably kept up with the Lindy West drama. If not, let me sum it up as quickly as I can. Lindy West is a writer who broke through in the early 2010s with her work at The Stranger and Jezebel. Her memoir Shrill became a bestseller and was adapted into a Hulu series starring Aidy Bryant. West’s work is sparky, funny, and focused on her perspective as a fat woman in a world where body shaming is the norm. I like her work. I still cite her quotes on abortion access because they’re so succinct. Anyway, a few years ago, she revealed that she and her husband, Aham, were now polyamorous and had a third in the marriage, a woman named Roya. Many of her fans were sceptical about the news, which was first revealed in an odd video interview where Lindy pours her heart out to the camera while Aham looks disinterested in her. It’s a lot.