Kanye West’s alleged attack on a fan early Thursday is nothing new for the rapper, who has a history of being pushy, aggressive and out of control in public.
In the latest incident, West allegedly punched the autograph-seeking fan and knocked him down in a reported act of rage, which reportedly led to a misdemeanor battery investigation by LAPD. West seems eager to put the incident behind him, rushing to Coachella to work on a new album and prepare for the famous music festival in April, TMZ reported.
Maybe West isn’t letting the investigation slow him down because he managed to avoid jail time and other harsh sentences in previous cases when he was accused of getting violent with people in public. The 44-year-old rapper has already been arrested twice – in 2008 and 2013 – for allegedly rushing and attacking photographers trying to take his picture.
In both cases, West was prosecuted, with judges ordering him to undergo multiple anger management counseling sessions to “understand why this happened.” He also made legal agreements with his alleged victims.
For West’s latest altercation, more details and a video emerged Thursday that features a disturbing image of the musician, “enraged” and yelling at others as his alleged victim lies on the ground.
Reports say the incident happened around 3 a.m. outside the Soho Warehouse, a members-only social club in downtown Los Angeles. The fan spotted West, who legally changed his name to Ye, sitting in his car after leaving the club, KTLA reported. The fan says he approached West’s car window to get his autograph, and a verbal exchange escalated into a physical confrontation, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The fan told police the rapper jumped out of his car, hit him and left the scene, KTLA also reported. The fan alleges he was hit so hard he fell to the ground.
Video obtained by TMZ shows an “angry” West earlier in the evening standing near a car and yelling at two women. We don’t know why West is angry, but we hear him say, “Did you say that or not? Did you all say that or not? Because that’s what happened (expletive) now.
TMZ got a video of Kanye West yelling at someone. He is currently under investigation for battery. pic.twitter.com/t2YIIcDg64
— Drama for girls (@dramaforthegirl) January 13, 2022
A second video obtained by TMZ shows the alleged victim lying in the street while an “enraged” and “absolutely livid” West is seen and heard yelling “get away from me” at an unidentified woman who tries to calm him down. The woman is heard saying, “I’m your family,” but West storms off in anger. TMZ said the woman could be his cousin.
IS NOT NO HAND – YE
Kanye West allegedly punched a guy in downtown LA last night
video through @TMZ pic.twitter.com/2SDKqldXC5
— GOD YEEZY (@gunnertierno) January 14, 2022
According to what witnesses told TMZ, West’s exchange with the woman happened right after he allegedly punched the fan twice — once in the head and once in the neck. The fan also hit his head when he fell to the ground.
Witnesses told TMZ that West asked a small group of people outside the club not to photograph him, because of “what he’s going through.” After one person reportedly said in a conciliatory manner, “It’s okay” and “we all go through family stuff,” West allegedly threw both punches.
What West is “going through” could be a reference to his high-profile divorce from wife Kim Kardashian, the mother of his four young children. West is also known to live with bipolar disorder, with reported manic episodes prompting him to rant in public or on social media about Kardashian, politics or other topics.
With a new song, West seems annoyed that Kardashian is dating “Saturday Night Live” star Pete Davidson, TMZ reported. A rough portion of the new track with The Game, titled “My Life Was Never Eazy,” was leaked Friday night. He reveals that West is rapping aggressively about Davidson with the line, “God saved me from the crash, just so I could beat Pete Davidson’s ass.”
While West has publicly begged Kardashian to reconcile, he’s also made a public show of being seen with other women in recent months. Notably, he was reportedly followed by a photographer to take PDA-filled photos of him with his new girlfriend Julia Fox, living in Miami and New York over New Years weekend.
A social media post shared around 1 a.m. Thursday showed the rapper hanging out with Fox at a star-studded gathering at West Hollywood celebrity hotspot Delilah, People reported. Madonna, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Antonio Brown and former professional boxer Floyd Mayweather also attended the rally.
Los Angeles police are continuing to investigate the altercation and will no doubt want to get West’s side on what happened, KTLA reported. As for West’s prior contact with police, he was arrested in 2008 on suspicion of vandalism and assault after an altercation with a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport, ABC News reported.
West and a man described as his tour manager rushed a photographer and grabbed his camera, ABC said, citing a report and video from TMZ. During the struggle, West threw the man’s camera to the ground and smashed it.
West was charged with three misdemeanor counts, including vandalism, battery and grand larceny. According to a report by Vibe.com, a judge dismissed the charges after West voluntarily followed court-approved anger management tips.
“Kanye took the accusations very seriously. [and] responded appropriately by getting advice to understand why this happened,” his lawyer Blair Berk said in an interview. “And the court appropriately agreed to dismiss all charges…that was the outcome that was appropriate given the facts of this case.”
It seems West has forgotten the lessons of his anger management classes because in 2013 he was arrested again for an altercation at the Los Angeles airport. This time, another TMZ video showed him exiting the airport and heading for a waiting car, the Los Angeles Times reported. He stopped and appeared to argue with one of the many photographers on site who allegedly asked, “Kanye, why can’t we talk to you?” The video showed West grabbing the photographer, putting him in a headlock, forcing him to the ground and trying to snatch the camera out of his hands, the Los Angeles Times and The Guardian reported.
West was charged with misdemeanor battery, The Guardian reported. After pleading no contest, he was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to perform 250 hours of community service and attend 24 anger management sessions.
West has also settled a lawsuit brought by the photographer, Daniel Ramos, The Guardian reported. The settlement was announced by Ramos’ lawyer, Gloria Allred, who said in a statement: “This case has sent an important message. Celebrities aren’t above the law, and they don’t have the right to physically assault someone just because they’ve been asked a question.
This story has been updated.
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