Kanye West was involved in a verbal altercation that got physical in Los Angeles on Monday when he was asked about his wife Bianca Censori having ‘free will’ in their relationship.
West, 46, was in the area present to support entertainer Charlie Wilson, 71, as he was being awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The question posed to photographer came as an insider exclusively told DailyMail.com that the Grammy-winning artist has banned his wife, 29, from using social media to protect her against negative comments.
In the daytime incident on Monday, West, the ex-husband of Kim Kardashian, was caught on camera as he removed a phone from the hand of a photographer who began down a line of questioning that upset him.
‘Hey Kanye, how you doing, its good to see you – people want to know, if Bianca has her free will? Some people are saying you are controlling her,’ the photographer said.
Kanye West, 46, was involved in a verbal altercation that got physical in LA on Monday when he was asked about his wife Bianca Censori having ‘free will’ in their relationship
In the clip published on TMZ, the camera was seen careening out of focus after West grabbed it, and asked the photographer, ‘Don’t come asking me that dumb-a** s***,’ he said. ‘I’m a person, bro.’
West, who was clad in an all-black ensemble, including a full face mask, asked the photographer why they had the gall to ask him ‘some dumb-a** disrespectful questions about my wife’ instead of asking him about more pertinent issues, such as his access and parental rights involving his four children with ex-wife Kardashian.
‘You got questions for that, or are you part of the system?’ he said. ‘Do you understand what I’m saying? Do you understand what I’m saying?
‘Was it wrong for you to ask me about my wife, some dumba**, disrespectful sh*** like that, was that wrong or right?’
West pressed on with his line of questioning as the photographer asked for their phone back.
‘Answer the question – I’m supposed to answer your questions – answer my questions,’ he said, disregarding any potential consequences for taking the photographer’s phone out of their hand and refusing to give it back.
‘I got your phone now: They’re gonna arrest me for taking your phone, arrest me for taking your phone then,’ he said.
West described himself as a ‘grown-a** superhero’ and ‘a legend’ as he continued to grill the shutterbug over the dumb-a** disrespectful question’ that was asked.
West was in the area present to support entertainer Charlie Wilson, 71, as he was being awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
West was clad in an all-black ensemble, including a full face mask, at the event. He was pictured standing next to Babyface in the wake of the run-in with the photog
West described himself as a ‘grown-a** superhero’ and ‘a legend’ in his diatribe Monday
West had a mercurial reaction when a photographer asked him if his wife Bianca Censori had ‘free will’ in their relationship. Pictured in May of 2023 in LA
West, pictured last week in LA, eventually surrendered the phone back
The photographer again asked him for their phone back, while handlers and organizers could be heard looking to corral West toward the event he was there for in the first place.
West asked the photographer for their name and address, and offered to double their salary with a job working for him, before giving the person their phone back.
‘Do you wanna work for me instead?’ he said. ‘Oh, now you’re smiling … get her contacts.’
A source told DailyMail.com that Censori’s use of social media has changed amid her relationship with West.
‘Bianca has always had social media and she was active on it – until she married Kanye,’ a source said. ‘He doesn’t want her to have it because he thinks that it will hurt her if she had to read the nasty things that people say.
‘He convinced her that, since she is a star now, she has to remain a mystery and it is creepy to those who know her as it feels like another form of control.’
The source juxtaposed West’s limiting of Censori’s social media intake to how he has presented her on his own social media pages.
‘He is pushing her nakedness all over his own [account] so that he can control her narrative,’ the source said. ‘It is disturbing, and by shutting her off from the world he is causing her to become more and more isolated.’
West lost a number of lucrative partnerships after a series of media appearances in late 2022 in which he made antisemitic statements and praised Adolf Hitler.