‘he is being stigmatized’

The View co-host Sunny Hostin says she’s not a Kanye West “apologist,” but she’s still “uncomfortable” with not letting him perform at the Grammys. 

On Monday, The View discussed the Grammys’ decision to drop West from the performance line-up due to his “concerning online behavior.” In recent weeks, the rapper has been attacking his ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s boyfriend, Pete Davidson, and he was temporarily suspended from Instagram for hurling a racial slur at Grammys host Trevor Noah. 

But Hostin said she’s “very uncomfortable” with the Grammys’ dropping West’s performance.

“Performance is an art, and it’s speech in many instances,” she said. “Where do we draw the line? I believe in consequence culture, I don’t believe in cancel culture, and I feel that he is, because of the stigma of mental health, I think he is being stigmatized.” 

Hostin noted West has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and she argued he’s not “this violent person that should be shunned from society and his art taken away from him.” She added, “We have something called the First Amendment in this country. We have freedom of speech. We have freedom of expression, and we’re canceling Kanye West for something he may do.” 

The other panelists disagreed, with Ana Navarro shooting back that West is “not entitled to put people’s lives in danger.” Navarro expressed support for West being suspended from social media for “inciting violence” and posting “horrible racial slurs,” asking, “Do we all need to put up with this?” Co-host Sara Haines also questioned why West will seemingly still be allowed to give a speech if he wins a Grammy. 

West’s attack on Noah came after the Daily Show host raised concerns about the rapper’s “terrifying” behavior. After the Grammys dropped West’s performance, though, Noah tweeted, “I said counsel Kanye not cancel Kanye.”