Kanye West’s Ugly History Of Publicly Targeting Kim Kardashian

There’s no shortage of chaos when it comes to Kanye West, but in recent years, his public unraveling has taken a disturbing shape. He’s gone on social media tirades, called himself a Nazi, alienated himself from Hip Hop culture, and taken shots at nearly everyone who once stood beside him. Still, the person who has endured the worst of his verbal attacks remains his equally as famous ex-wife, Kim Kardashian.

Kanye has made Kim the centerpiece of his ongoing meltdowns. He's dragged her name through interviews, Instagram posts, and even music. Further, Ye tried to weaponize public sympathy, calling her a bad mother, accusing her of keeping their kids from him, and framing her as part of some larger cultural betrayal. He has played the race card against her while ignoring the fact that he built a family with her, had four children, and for years, publicly praised her.

With Kanye’s latest string of attacks once again dominating headlines, it’s time to revisit some of the most toxic ways he's attacked Kardashian in interviews and on social media. Many believe this isn’t about drama. They assert it’s about recognizing patterns of controlling behavior, emotional manipulation, and public humiliation that too many people write off as eccentricity. Now, this isn't to paint Kim as a saint, but in the light of West's ongoing and increasing antics, the reality star has garnered a wave of sympathy.

In January 2022, Kanye released the single Eazy with The Game, and immediately sparked backlash with the line, “God saved me from that crash just so I can beat Pete Davidson’s ass.” The diss was aimed at Kim’s then-boyfriend, and it didn’t end with the music. Soon after, Kanye dropped a claymation-style music video where a cartoon version of himself kidnapped, buried, and decapitated a figure that looked exactly like Davidson. The imagery was violent, deliberate, and left little room for interpretation.

By painting himself as the hero and Pete as the villain, Kanye tried to make public humiliation look like righteous anger. What could have been a personal healing journey became a performance rooted in intimidation, with Kim caught in the crossfire. Moreover, this was just the tip of the iceberg of purported attacks on Davidson and Kardashian's relationship. West made it clear that he wasn't a fan of his ex-wife moving on with the Saturday Night Live star, and Davidson didn't hold back. It was reported that Davidson was being sly behind the scenes, trolling West with photos. Later, Davidson would address the beef during a stand-up comedy special.

Kanye knows how to turn sentiment into spectacle, and few things he’s done publicly have been more manipulative than his repeated claims that Kim keeps their children from him. Over the last few years, he’s posted screenshots of private conversations, accused her of “kidnapping” their daughter for a birthday party, and implied she blocks him from seeing the kids—none of which she publicly confirmed. In 2022, West wrote, “This was on my daughters back pack when I was 'allowed' to see her last week." He implied that Kardashian was imposing strict rules regarding how much time he can spend with his children. However, Kim clapped back. “Please stop with this narrative," she replied. "You were just here this morning picking up the kids for school.”

These weren’t just emotional outbursts. They were calculated efforts to rally the public, especially Black men, around the idea that Kim was weaponizing the legal system and her whiteness against him. Still, the facts never supported that narrative. Kim was the one seen with the kids at events, at school drop-offs, doing the parenting in real time. Meanwhile, Kanye was accused of using fatherhood like a prop, pulling the race card when it suited him.

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When Kanye feels cornered, he swings wild, and in 2022, he dragged multiple names into the mess without a shred of evidence. First, he implied that Kim had an inappropriate meeting with Meek Mill while she was working on criminal justice reform. Then, during one of his infamous late-night social media spirals, he claimed he “caught” Kim with NBA star Chris Paul. Again, no photos. No proof. Just accusations dropped like bombs, right before he went offline.

The timing wasn’t random. It was amid his antisemitic rants blowing up in the media, and suddenly, he was trying to shift the spotlight. By throwing out salacious claims about Kim’s fidelity, he wanted the public to forget the fire he started and redirect their attention to her. Due to his public meltdowns, the allegations of cheating behaviors didn't really land. Sure, they made headlines, but people continued to voice concern about West's wellbeing and mental state.

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Instead of keeping their daughter out of the spotlight, Kanye made North the center of one of his loudest public feuds. In early 2022, he slammed Kim for allowing North to post videos on TikTok, calling it unsafe and inappropriate. “Since this is my first divorce,” he wrote in a now-deleted Instagram caption, “I need to know what I should do about my daughter being put on TikTok against my will.” His concern became a headline, inviting millions of strangers to weigh in on the parenting of an eight-year-old.

Kim responded publicly, something she rarely does, explaining that the account was monitored and meant to bring North joy. But Kanye wasn’t interested in a real conversation. He weaponized his daughter’s image to paint Kim as careless, framing himself as the protective father while simultaneously exploiting the very privacy he claimed to want for her.

What made the moment even darker was what followed. In the middle of another social media meltdown, Kanye posted a list of people who allegedly betrayed him. North West was one of them, albeit she was included in "my own kids." Yet, this isn't outlandish for Ye. Back in 2020, he publicly spoke about North on his political campaign trail, stating, "I almost killed my daughter … So even if my wife were to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into the world, even when I didn't want to," he added. "She stood up, and she protected that child." This near-abortion story rubbed many the wrong way, including Azealia Banks who called his comments "abusive."

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Whenever Kim tried to handle things privately, Kanye made sure the internet knew about it. Throughout their divorce and custody battles, he posted screenshots of text messages from Kim. Some of them were her pleading with him to stop, others trying to set boundaries. One read, “You are creating a dangerous and scary environment and someone will hurt Pete and this will all be your fault.” Kanye shared it anyway, brushing off her concern like it was just content.

The posts didn’t stay up for long. He’d delete them, apologize, and then do it all over again. It became a cycle: provoke, post, backtrack, repeat. However, the damage stuck. Each post invited swarms of his fans to attack Kim online and defend his behavior as righteous anger. By making their private conversations public, he broke trust and tried to isolate her and paint himself as the victim.

After years of building a life with Kim Kardashian—dating, marrying, and having four children—Kanye began reframing their relationship through the lens of race. Once things soured, he accused her of being part of a broader system that disrespected Black men. He positioned himself as a victim of cultural theft and claimed Kim used their children against him in ways that played into stereotypes of the "absent Black father." The irony was glaring. For years, Kanye basked in the luxury and access that came with the Kardashian name. Only after the fallout did he try to reframe Kim as the face of white oppression.

It was initially rooted in accountability or self-awareness. Quickly, the public stirred conversations that Ye's knew thoughts were opportunism, plain and loud. One week he was praising conservative figures with anti-Black agendas, pushing "White Lives Matter" and swastika shirts. The next, he was crying out for support from the same Black community he had consistently antagonized. It felt less like a man confronting racial injustice and more like someone feeling the walls closing in. There’s a difference between calling out systems and using identity as a shield. Kanye chose the latter.

While celebrity drama is often treated like entertainment, this one deserves more scrutiny. Because what Kanye has done to Kim isn’t just about fame, it mirrors what many people face behind closed doors, minus the spotlight. Will Kanye West let up? He isn't pumping the brakes any time, and his recent interview wearing a black Ku Klux Klan robe and hood is proof.

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