Kanye West has deleted his social media accounts. Repeat: Kanye West has deleted his social media accounts.The celebrated rapper and showman abruptly pulled both his Twitter and Instagram accounts from the internet this week, disconnecting himself from the millions of screaming online voices that were probably doing just gangbusters for his mental health.
Outside of a couple of pre-presidential photo-ops, West’s profile has been decidedly low over the last few months, ever since he canceled his tour and was briefly hospitalized for exhaustion last November. (He’s even been ducking out on his usual slate of red carpet appearances, with wife Kim Kardashian going stag to this week’s Met Gala, where she told reporters that her husband was “taking some time off and really loving that.”) West’s online presence has been a big part of the “Kanye Experience” in recent years, especially when he’s in the midst of a new album launch, as with last year’s The Life Of Pablo. West’s tendency to tease (and sometimes infuriate) his fans has led to everything from widespread internet outrage to acts of online embroidery.
Meanwhile, the rapper’s kids’ fashion line, which he worked on with Kardashian, launches this week. It remains to be seen how the new brand will do, forced to survive with only one of the world’s most successful social-media stars stumping for it instead of two.