Kanye West was caught on video grabbing a woman’s phone after she refused to stop taking his photo and filming him from her car. After snatching the phone, he threw it in the street.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department is currently investigating the celebrity for alleged battery after receiving the report. However, West had already left the scene when the police arrived. The sheriffs were provided with video evidence of the confrontation. In the video, an unnamed woman and the rapper were in their cars and stopped at a stoplight near the Sports Academy on Rancho Conejo Boulevard in Newbury Park, Southern California. Kim Kardashian and West’s daughter, North West, had a scheduled basketball game at the venue. Bianca Censori, his new wife, was seen in the car, but she did not follow her husband. Censori was the architectural designer of the rapper’s fashion brand, Yeezy. The couple married recently, two months after his divorce from Kim was finalized.
West went up to the woman in her car and told her to stop, but she didn’t listen and kept filming and taking pictures of him. The woman told the rapper he was a celebrity, but West grabbed her phone and tossed it into the street. After that, West reentered his vehicle and drove off. According to Capt. William Hutton of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, no one was injured and no arrests were made, but the investigation is on-going. The police also identified West as the suspect in the alleged battery.
There is still no clear information on whether the woman was a professional photographer or a fan, as the celebrity rapper accused her of following him.
When the video became viral, it garnered different reactions from many social media users. Some said that fans should respect privacy, even if they are celebrities. Others commented that people are free to photograph anyone, especially public figures. Some individuals argued he had no right to do that and must be sued. This is not the first time West became the headline; he also became viral for the anti-Semitic remarks that could prevent him from having a visa to Australia, Censori’s hometown. West and his wife have yet to comment on the video.