Kanye West has had many run-ins with paparazzi, and now a new incident has been added to the rapper’s ever-growing list of beef with shutterbugs.
The disgraced rapper is being investigated for Battery following an altercation with a photographer. The incident, caught on video, shows Ye accusing the woman of following him before grabbing and throwing her phone into the street.
The video shows the woman saying, “You’re a celebrity!” but cuts off abruptly as a furious Ye menacingly walks towards a second person filming the altercation.
According to TMZ, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department was called to the scene and provided video evidence of the incident to see if Kanye should be charged with Battery.
It needs to be determined if the woman is a professional photographer or a local just taking videos of West.
Lately, Ye has expressed growing frustration with the constant attention he has received from the paparazzi after his high-profile divorce from Kim Kardashian, his controversial comments about Black and Jewish people, which led to him losing deals with Adidas, GAP, Balenciaga, and most of his $2 billion fortune.
He has a long history of altercations with the paps.
In 2009, Ye was arrested for attacking a paparazzo at Los Angeles International Airport as he was heading to Hawaii.
The rap star was charged with Battery and attempted grand theft, but the charges were later dropped, and he was sentenced to do 50 hours of community service.
In 2013, he infamously got into a physical altercation with a paparazzo outside LAX airport. Kanye later settled with the photographer out of court and had to serve 250 hours of community service.
Despite these run-ins, Kanye continues to be a popular figure in the entertainment industry and is followed closely by the media.
In general, Kanye’s relationship with the paparazzi is complicated. On the one hand, he has expressed frustration with their constant attention, but on the other hand, he is also known for seeking out publicity and media attention for his projects.
Earlier this week, Ye told a photographer that he felt like a “caged animal” and revealed he had to start taking medication because of their constant hounding.
“Do you know the first time I ever took medication, why it was? ‘Cause I got mad at paparazzi. Do you know what paparazzi it was? The same one that shot Britney [Spears]. My dad did photography for newspapers. It has to be some kind of balance, some kind of conversation. I can’t live in California in my life like I’m some type of caged animal to be judged and photographed.”