Kanye West has received harsh criticism for a lyric from his new album Yeezus referencing Parkinson’s disease.
On the album’s first track, “On Sight,” the Grammy Award winner raps: “A monster about to come alive again / Soon as pull up and park the Benz / We get this b*tch shaking like Parkinson’s.”
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative brain disorder that progresses slowly in most people, as defined by the National Parkinson Foundation. Individuals with Parkinson’s can live with the disease for 20 or more years from the time of diagnosis, and there is currently no cure.
Following the album’s release, “On Sight” and its lyrical content have come under fire by several Parkinson’s disease organizations.
The American Parkinson Disease Association’s vice president, Kathryn Whitford, commented to TMZ, saying, “we find these lyrics distasteful and the product of obvious ignorance.”
Parkinson’s UK condemned the artist and his new track. “Life with Parkinson’s is difficult enough without becoming fodder for insensitive celebrities, who should know better,” said the association’s CEO, Steve Ford, to The Guardian. “Kanye West has shown an inexcusable level of stupidity and cruelty towards people living with an incurable condition … People with Parkinson’s have to cope with intolerable social discrimination on a daily basis – often to the point where they are afraid to go out in public – and this sort of thoughtless, callous comment can only serve to make things even worse for them.”
The controversial lyrics have also come under harsh scrutiny from Tom Palizzi, Chair for People With Parkinson’s Advisory Council. Palizzi said on Cincinnati’s Q102:
Kanye West is without question a richly talented and multifaceted artist. With utmost respect for freedom of expression and the inherent controversial nature of art in general, there is, however, a fine line between expression and insensitivity,” he said. “Many of us appreciate the lighter side of having a chronic and degenerative movement disorder, though as many interpret such statements as harsh and insensitive. As Chair and on behalf of PPAC, I would be delighted to help Mr. West better understand the truths and myths of Parkinson’s. Notable people such as Michael J. Fox, Muhammad Ali and Ben Petrick, my peers and millions of others are testament to the enduring spirit of people with Parkinson’s.
Yeezus has also been widely condemned for West’s misogynistic lyrics, such as: “Black girl sippin’ white wine/put my fist in her like a civil rights sign.”
Academic and media personality Marc Lamont Hill tweeted that Kanye seems to have a “visceral hate for women other than Donda West,” his late mother.
West, who recently became a father to a baby girl, has yet to respond to any comments.
Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals.