Did opioid addiction play a role in Kanye West's breakdown?

Taryn Ryder
·Writer, Yahoo Entertainment
Kanye West in February 2017 in New York City (Photo: Marc Piasecki/GC Images)
Kanye West in February 2017 in New York City (Photo: Marc Piasecki/GC Images)

Was Kanye West‘s 2016 hospitalization due to opioid addiction? That’s allegedly what Kim Kardashian’s husband told Hot 97 radio host Ebro Darden.

On Monday’s Ebro in the Morning show, Darden detailed a conversation he claimed to have had with West in which the rapper supposedly said he was suffering from opioid addiction at the time of his breakdown.

“He went on to talk about [how] ‘Nobody really showed love for me when I was addicted to opioids and in the hospital,'” Darden recounted, saying that he then told West that was a lie. The radio host said he “personally” knew people who tried to reach out through mutual connections, like Pusha T and Scooter Braun.

In November 2016, West was hospitalized following a string of outbursts during his “Life of Pablo” world tour, which he abruptly canceled. This is the first time opioid addiction has been publicly mentioned in relation to West’s breakdown. At the time, reports claimed he was hospitalized due to exhaustion and sleep deprivation. Kardashian’s robbery in Paris also supposedly put a strain on him and their relationship.

Yahoo has reached out to a rep for West, but did not immediately receive a response.

It doesn’t seem like the 40-year-old rapper is upset with Darden for bringing up their purported conversation about opioids on air. On Tuesday, West called in to Darden’s show to repeatedly say, “I love you.”

West had a few buzzy comments during his private chat with Darden. The rapper apparently made it clear he (still) loves President Trump. Darden’s co-host found that to be the biggest moment from the convo.

West, who is back on Twitter, has yet to address any of the headline-making comments himself.

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