Fans of The Kardashians are bewildered, appalled, and mesmerized by Kanye West and The Game's video for "Easy." Gruesome claymation used to belong to Tim Burton, but no more. Kanye's taken his beef with his newly minted nemesis "Skete" to a whole new level. Some long-time stans stand staunchly behind him. At the same time, others see the violent video as a deeper low in a series of manipulative and abusive tendencies. "Eazy" previously made headlines for Kanye rapping he wanted to beat, "Pete Davidson's a**." It looks like Kanye wanted to prove the media was overreacting by taking the video to a whole new level.
The "Eazy" video's depiction of claymation Pete's head ensconced in a bag on the way to his decapitation shocked viewers. Kanye then opts for a real video of himself with a prop head, maybe inspired by Maddy Morphosis's look on RuPaul's Drag Race. However, Kanye saves the nastiest moments for Pete and others in claymation. As Kanye raps, "Only God did this," he pours water over clay Pete's planted head only for roses to later sprout. Kanye cuts and packs them into a truck bed. The image draws a direct link to the roses delivered to Kim Kardashian on Valentine's Day. The content may be gruesome, but the stylistic choices are interesting and might have received more praise if not for depicting Pete.
Many fans cite the violent depictions of Pete as further evidence of Kanye's cycle of abuse towards Kim. Sexci Pixie Girl tweeted, "Kim Kardashian has been declared legally single, and in response, Kanye uploads a stop motion music video of him KIDNAPPING and DECAPITATING Pete Davidson?????? This is abuse." Black Isallgold agreed, writing, "All this violence for Pete shows that Kanye never viewed Kim as a human being but property." After Wiz Khalifa started dating Amber Rose fans pointed out Kanye did the same thing. The tactic of attacking the new partner of exes does seem incredibly abusive.
On the other hand, Kanye supporters defend his right to express himself. Many of them point out that violent images toward men of color in rap and hip-hop culture haven't garnered the same reaction as the ones of Pete. Some also say Pete's ridicule of Kanye wasn't criticized. Watching the Throne, who runs a Kanye Podcast, said, "People losing their minds over a music video are the same people who say, 'Pete's SNL monologue on Kanye was just comedy and not that big of a deal.'" Critics pointed out Pete's a comedian, and jokes about Kanye's rants didn't equate to a fake decapitation after months of harassment. Watching The Throne followed up, "'I'm not saying one is okay, and the other isn't or that both are okay or that both are bad," and "Claymation violence is fine to some, not to others. Mocking SNL monologue is fine for some, not to others."
Overall where Kanye succeeds is in his ability to hold the press and the world's attention. Since the peaceful lull at the beginning of Kim and Kanye's divorce, there's been no end to his persistent presence in news feeds. He might take note of the public's general lack of enthusiasm for his latest move. Then again, he may live by his former mother-in-law's belief that all news is good news. Kim and her family will inevitably address the endless drama on The Kardashians this spring.
Sources: Black Isallgold/Twitter, Sexiepixiegrl/ Twitter, Watching The Throne/Twitter