Let's Be Real: Kanye West's 'Performance Art' Is Just 'Jerry Springer' 2.0
Kanye West seems to be making a career out of controversy, exactly what Jerry Springer did years before him.
If Kanye West is proving anything right now, it's that America's thirst for controversial content has not dwindled since the end of "The Jerry Springer Show" in 2018.
Host Jerry Springer kicked off the mundane series in 1991, but when poor ratings threatened to shutter the show, the topics became more extreme and the guests more outlandish. West, who now wants to be known as Ye, has been controversial for years over remarks that he's made online.
In his latest stunt, Ye told his wife, Bianca Censori, to drop her robe on the Grammys red carpet and then bounced, commanding more attention than Beyoncé's Album of the Year win.
Has Kanye West Become The Next Jerry Springer?
There were exactly 3,891 episodes of “The Jerry Springer Show,” proving, if nothing else, that America loves to watch a good trainwreck. Ye, who has always been a PR master, wore a black shirt and slacks while Censori wore a black robe that she later discarded to reveal a sheer dress that left nothing, and I mean nothing, to the imagination.
At first, reports surfaced claiming that the two had been kicked out of the event for violating the Grammy dress code. Other reports surfaced that Ye had left on his own terms. Yet more reports stated that he didn’t even have a seat inside the venue, despite being nominated for an award that later went to Kendrick Lamar (of course).
Although one source told Page Six that the couple was trying to recreate his “Vultures 1” album cover, it doesn't really matter why he did it. He knew he would cause a stir and create a significant amount of attention, which is exactly what he wanted.
Society Has Always Had The 'Freak Show'
Versions of the "freak show" have always existed throughout history. In ancient Greece, it was late-night plays on the outskirts of town. In ancient Rome, it was the private parties with hush-hush invitations. In the Edwardian era, it was the corner of a museum that belonged to that one disrespectable nobleman. In the Victorian era, it was the circus sideshow or the concerts in the catacombs.
In the 1990s, the world had Jerry Springer. What Jerry did was not radical, although many deemed it was. He simply provided a contained platform for the deviant and the antisocial placed safely behind the boundaries of respectable social derision. Although the "freak show" had always been popular, it was now mainstream. Jerry made it socially acceptable to openly discuss and mock controversial individuals on national television. At one point, he had higher ratings than Oprah.
What made it even more compelling was just how many people seemingly signed up voluntarily to face ridicule from a live audience. The typical "Yeah, I slept with your man, so what? I'll sleep with whoever I want to!" had people gasping at the audacity and still tuning in for more. With close to 4,000 episodes, it seemed that there was no shortage of people willing to "let their freak flag fly" or openly state that they do what and to hell with the consequences.
Bianca Censori Doesn't Seem To Mind Playing Along
Bianca Censori before Kanye dominion. https://t.co/Aj2drQN0cr pic.twitter.com/1PzAwhrjk6
— HOTGIRLS HQ
