Kanye West knows he could have done better. The rapper and fashion mogul, 45, apologized to ex-wife Kim Kardashian, 41, when speaking to Linsey Davis for an interview that aired on Good Morning America on Thursday (Sept. 22). “This is the mother of my children,” he said in the teaser. “And I apologize for any stress that I have caused, even in my frustration, because God calls me to be stronger,” he said. “I need this person [Kim] to be less stressed and of the best, sound mind and as calm as possible to be able to raise those children at the end of the day.”
Linsey boldly approached the topic of social media with the controversial musician. “Social media, do you feel, is that more hurtful, or beneficial to you?” she asked. “Oh that’s one of my favorite questions this interview,” Kanye quipped. “I mean, we can use a car to rush somebody to the hospital, or we could use a car and accidentally hit somebody while we’re rushing somebody to the hospital. So it’s all in how we use it.”
“This is the mother of my children and I apologize for any of stress that I have caused.” @kanyewest speaks on co-parenting with Kim Kardashian. https://t.co/pJ0AQzgKkj pic.twitter.com/ATTI17235u
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 22, 2022
Kanye has frequently used Instagram as a forum for airing his grievances against everything from the Gap to his famous former in-laws to Kim and even her ex-boyfriend, Saturday Night Live alum Pete Davidson, 28.
During the interview, Ye likened his clash with Kim to his recent fashion woes. “I do have a voice, but I had to fight for it. That hurts you when you have to scream about what your kids are wearing. And it’s those little nuances, where there was a parallel at what was happening at Gap, what was happening at Adidas, and what was happening in my home. It was all kind of a disregard for the voice of something I co-created. I co-created the children. I co-created the product at Adidas. I co-created the product at Gap. And there’s a parallel, and the parallel does touch upon discrimination.”
“As a dad and as a Christian. And I have a right to have a voice on what my kids are wearing, what they’re watching, what they’re eating,” he said in the full Good Morning America interview. “I have a platform where I get to say what so many dads can’t say out loud. .. I’m their dad. It has to be co-parenting. It’s not up to only the woman. Like, men have a choice also. Men’s voices matter.”
Ye said that he wants his children to attend Donda Academy, formerly the Yeezy Christian Academy. He said the school “gives “kids practical tools that they need in a world post the iPhone being created” since “so many schools are made to set kids up for industries that don’t even matter anymore.”
“We spread the gospel.” @kanywest talks about Donda Academy — a private school he created named after his late mother Donda West. https://t.co/pJ0AQzgKkj pic.twitter.com/WdoQJpPxkA
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 22, 2022
During the interview, Ye spoke about his ongoing battle with Adidas – who West criticized for releasing its Adilette 22 sandals, which reportedly resemble Ye’s Yeezy slides – and the falling out with the Gap. “We had to level up,” Ye said. “Really show ’em who’s the new boss in town, that I’m the boss of me. I’m no longer just the man ridin’ atop the polo horse. I’m not just a mascot in the middle of the games, gettin’ the crowd hyped up sayin’, ‘Hey, wear this, do this,’ but you know, just learn financial engineering. Learn how to — learn how to really run a company.”
In the future, Ye plans to sell his product directly to consumers. He also said that his time in politics isn’t over.
“I will go ahead and say that Sway had the answer.” @kanyewest talks about selling Yeezy brand on his own amidst brand battles and references an interview with Sway from 2013. https://t.co/pJ0AQzgKkj pic.twitter.com/iPvZU9i8YJ
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 22, 2022
.@kanyewest tells @linseydavis he still has future political aspirations. https://t.co/pJ0AQzgKkj pic.twitter.com/TZHE3Q40om
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 22, 2022
Ye also claimed he’s often misunderstood due to his intense Christian faith. He said he’s a “radical” for promoting “the idea of family, the idea of God, the idea of protecting your children’s innocence for as long as possible.”
“When you remove the love and fear of God, you open up the love and fear of everything else,” he added. “And it’s easier to have sheep when people don’t have God. It’s easier to control the people if people are not controlled by God. Because then they can be controlled by how many likes they have or whatever’s happening on their TikTok or how much money or the perception that people have. But we only have one audience here, and that audience is God. And He’s watching us at all times. He’s got my back.”
Indeed, Kanye, who shares children North, 9, Psalm, 3, Chicago, 4, and Saint, 6, with the reality TV icon and SKIMS founder, seems to have attempted to turn over a new leaf in recent weeks. Following a lengthy Instagram rampage on September 1, which included calling Tristan Thompson, Travis Scott, and Scott Disick “fellow sperm donors,” he announced he was “releasing all grudges” amid Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
“Life is precious. Releasing all grudges today. Leaning into the light,” he captioned the September 9 post, just a day after the beloved Monarch’s passing. Several slides in the since-deleted post showed portraits of the Queen. At the time of this publication, his Instagram account has no published posts.