- So Kanye West has said some things about Pete Davidson.
♪ God saved me from that crash ♪
♪ Just so I can beat Pete Davidson's ass ♪
- He may be getting himself into a world of legal trouble.
Now, unless you've been living under a rock,
you probably have some familiarity
with the public fighting between Kim Kardashian
and her ex and baby father Kanye West.
Now in the aftermath of this bitter divorce,
fans and observers have expressed concern
about Kanye's increasingly erratic public behavior
against Kim Kardashian,
his threats against people like Kardashian's
new partner, Pete Davidson,
and feuds with comedians like Trevor Noah,
who criticized West's conduct.
So today we're gonna cover the laws of harassment,
stalking and domestic violence,
and analyze to what extent Kanye's eccentric bluster
crosses the line into potential criminality,
and address the legal measures that Kardashian
and Davidson could take to protect themselves
and their children as well.
And what's going to happen to Kanye's kids
in the aftermath of this erratic behavior?
Now, even if you've never watched
the Kardashians' reality show,
the family's forays into everything from music and politics
into popular culture have made it
increasingly difficult to not keep up with the Kardashians
whether you wanted to or not.
But if you've managed to stay uninformed
about the Kardashians for this long, well, too bad
because we're going to cover what in the world is going on.
Now here's a brief timeline of the KimYe saga
based on publicly available facts.
Now, Kim and Kanye began dating in 2012
before they formally tied the knot in 2014.
The couple shares four children,
daughters North and Chicago,
and sons, Saint and Psalm.
Now, as the years went by,
West's struggles with mental health
began to spill into the public view.
And in November, 2016, one month after Kim
was famously robbed at gunpoint at her hotel in Paris,
West triggered backlash and confusion at his performances
by going on controversial rants about politics and race
and then ending shows early.
Now, West abruptly canceled his tour
and was immediately hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation
due to, "acting erratically,"
During which time he was allegedly handcuffed
in the back of an ambulance for his own safety.
West continued to generate negative publicity for himself
when he told TMZ regarding 400 years of enslavement
of African Americans, "That sounds like a choice."
Now he would admit in a 2018 interview
with the New York Times that he feared that these comments
to TMZ would cause his wife to leave him.
And if that wasn't enough, in July of 2020,
the music mogul took to Twitter to announce his candidacy
for president of the United States
where he'd go on to earn 60,000 total votes
as he missed the ballot deadline by several weeks.
And then weeks after that,
Kardashian posted a lengthy statement on Instagram
addressing her then husband's erratic posts
and struggles with bipolar disorder.
"Anyone who has bipolar disorder
or has a loved one in their life who does,
knows how incredibly complicated
and painful it is to understand.
I've never spoken publicly about how this
has affected us at home because I'm very protective
of our children and Kanye's right to privacy
when it comes to his health.
But today I feel like I should comment on it
because of the stigma and misconception
about mental health."
The marriage, however, would not last
and Kardashian formally filed for divorce
in February of 2021.
In December, 2021, Kardashian petitioned the court
to declare her "legally single and restore her maiden name",
declaring their marriage "irredeemably broken down"
and "no counseling or reconciliation effort
will be of any value at this time".
Kanye, who had just changed his name to just Ye,
opposed Kardashian's motion to be declared single,
arguing issues related to custody of the children
and shared properties needed to be resolved.
Now, replying to Ye's motion, Kardashian told the court,
"I very much desire to be divorced
and that Ye's social media posts were rife
with misinformation regarding our private family matters
and co-parenting on social media
which has created emotional distress."
And on March 2nd, 2022, Kim's petition
to be legally single was granted.
The divorce grew even more contentious
when Davidson and Kardashian reportedly started dating
in late fall of 2021.
On social media, Ye would alternate between
begging Kardashian to reconcile
and attacking her parenting style.
In since deleted Instagram posts,
Ye expressed concern for his daughter North
appearing on TikTok,
claiming that Kardashian had accused him
of putting a hit out on her and claimed Kardashian
was keeping his children away from him.
Kardashian fired back at Ye for his constant
attacks against her and criticized his purported obsession
with trying to control and manipulate the situation.
Ye's vitreal towards Davidson also spilled into public view
in the form of a rap based attack.
In the song "Eazy", Ye raps, "God saved me from that crash
just so I can beat Pete Davidson's ass,"
which doesn't actually rhyme.
But anyway, in one music video for the song,
the Claymation Ye kidnaps, beheads and buries Davidson.
In a follow up video, an animated monkey
beats up Pete Davidson.
Now in early March, Pete Davidson's friend David Sirus
leaked proported text messages between Ye and Davidson
in which the SNL star defends Kardashian as,
"Literally the best mother I've ever met,"
and confronts the rapper for his
months of harassing behavior on social media
against Kardashian and himself,
telling Ye, "To grow the fuck up."
Davidson purportedly informed Ye
that he was in LA for the day
and offered to meet privately to talk things out.
When Ye asked for Davidson's location,
"The King of Staten Island" star sent a photo of himself
flashing a peace sign with his fingers sticking out
and his tongue with the cheeky reply,
"In bed with your wife."
Ye proposed meeting at his Sunday service
but Davidson refused, suggesting that Ye
was more interested in publicity than resolution,
and Davidson offered to help Ye with his mental health,
reportedly telling the rapper,
"It's so sad to see you ruin your legacy on the daily."
Davidson wrote, "Let me help you, man."
Highlighting his own struggles with mental health.
"It's not an easy journey.
You don't have to feel this way anymore.
There's no shame in having a little help.
You'll be so happy and at peace."
Entertainers like Billie Eilish and D.L. Hughley
began to weigh in on Ye's threatening behavior,
sparking their own feuds with the rap mogul.
And in a "Daily Show" segment,
Trevor Noah called out Ye's belligerent
treatment of his ex-wife,
describing the whole saga as, "Terrifying to watch,
that exemplify the type of harassment
that so many women go through when they choose to leave."
In response, Ye angrily attacked the South African comedian
on Instagram with racial slurs,
earning Ye a 24 hour ban for violating the site's policies
on hate speech, bullying and harassment.
Okay, so I think that means we're all caught up.
Now we can talk about the legal implications
of all of this erratic behavior.
Now in the face of Ye's threats against Davidson
and the unstable behavior towards Miss Kardashian,
some have advised them to get a restraining order.
So what are the options when it comes to
protecting themselves and the children
when it comes to a restraining order?
Well, let's start with the basics.
A restraining order, also called a protective order,
is a court order that can protect an individual
from being physically or sexually abused,
threatened, stalked, or harassed.
The person the restraining order is against
is called the restrained person.
The person requesting the restraining order
is called the protected person,
and restraining orders can be broadened to include family
or other household members
as part of that class of protected persons.
As the name suggests, a restraining order
restrains the third party from committing certain actions
against the protected persons.
And then one type of restriction is a personal conduct order
which prohibits the restrained party
from any of the following actions,
including contacting the the person attacking,
stalking, threatening, sexually assaulting, harassing,
destroying personal property or disturbing the peace
of those protected people.
And a protected person can also obtain
what's called a stay away order,
which is probably the kind of restraining order
you're familiar with in the media,
where a restrained person has to keep
a certain distance away from the protected person
or where that person lives, their place of work,
the children's school, their vehicle,
and other important places.
And if that restrained person violates the restraining order
then they may be sent to jail or pay a fine or both.
Now, additionally, a domestic violence restraining order
protects an individual from abuse when the abused
and the abuser are or have been in an intimate relationship.
And the abuse prohibited is not limited
to the actual infliction of physical injury
or committing assault,
as psychological torment is also included.
And if the parties haven't dated
and don't have a close relationship,
then that falls under the purview
of a civil harassment restraining order.
Since Ye and Kardashian were married
and have children together,
Kardashian might be able to seek
a domestic violence restraining order
while Pete Davidson might be entitled to seek
a civil harassment order.
Now just because Ye's outbursts have
mostly played out on social media
doesn't make them any less potentially alarming.
On the contrary, Ye's escalation on social media is typical
of patterns that translate into real world abuse.
So could Ye's conduct actually support
a domestic violence protective order from Miss Kardashian?
Well, if Kardashian shows that she has
actually suffered emotional distress
or fear of harm as a result of Ye's conduct,
and that fear is reasonable,
then there's a decent chance a judge
would grant Kardashian a restraining order.
And here there are several things that constitute abuse
that would give rise to an order,
but what's most relevant here is that
making someone reasonably afraid that they
or someone else are about to be seriously hurt
through threats or promises to commit harm
would qualify as abuse that would rise
to the level of a restraining order.
And under California law,
a credible threat means intentionally saying something
or acting in a way that would make a reasonable person
afraid for his or her safety,
or the safety of his or her family.
And a credible threat to violence includes
following or stalking someone, making harassing calls,
sending harassing messages by phone, email, mail,
or over a period of time, even if it's a short time.
And a threat may be implied by a pattern of conduct
and need not be explicitly stated.
Now some have questioned whether Ye's
repeated efforts to win back Kardashian,
even after she closed the door on reconciliation,
constitutes stalking.
In December, 2021, Ye purchased the house across the street
from his soon to be ex-wife's house,
purportedly so he could be closer to his kids.
Now during a charity event that same month,
West, while Kardashian and their daughter North
was in attendance,
tweaked the lyrics of a song
to beg for his estranged wife to return to him.
In February, 2022, Ye shared a photo collage of Kardashian
and their children where he publicly pleaded with her
to rekindle their romance,
writing in a since deleted post,
"God please bring our family back together."
So is this stalking or a credible threat?
Well, this alone, probably not.
There are three common defenses to stalking charges,
that one, no credible threat was made,
that there was no intent to cause fear,
and or three, that the activities
were constitutionally protected.
Now to date, there's been no indication
that Ye has made a credible threat of violence
against his ex or their family or that his actions
are calculated to cause fear.
Ye's efforts to win back his ex on social media
are not coupled with what would normally
be considered threats to her safety.
So they likely fall under constitutionally protected speech.
And while moving close to one's ex can seem alarming,
this act alone is not going to be enough
to constitute stalking.
So Ye purchasing a house to be closer to his kids
is likely not stalking in the absence of threats.
Though it's potentially possible that Ye's actions
could fall under the broader umbrella of harassment
which includes threats of violence that seriously scare,
annoy or harass someone and serves no legitimate purpose.
And to constitute harassment,
the offender must engage in a course of conduct
that would cause a reasonable person to suffer
substantial emotional distress
and must actually cause substantial emotional distress
to the petitioner.
Kardashian has already filed a motion
in her divorce case saying that Ye's
social media posts were full of,
"Misinformation regarding our private family matters
and co-parenting on social media
which has created emotional distress."
And according to one insider,
Kim has grown particularly disturbed by her ex
when he alleged in a mid-March Instagram post
that Davidson, "Will hook her on drugs."
This comment allegedly alarmed Kardashians so much
that she hired security to protect herself and Davidson.
"She's scared and is so jumpy,
she's really on her guard and making sure
she has security right now,
and has asked Pete to also take precautions."
Now, California law allows parties
to get a restraining order against conduct
that disturbs a person's peace
even in the absence of violent threats.
And based on the publicly available evidence,
it's possible that Kardashian has cause
for a domestic violence restraining order
against Ye for harassment and disturbing her peace.
But what about Pete Davidson?
Can he get a restraining order?
And is rap music a criminal threat?
Now, if you told me last year that I was going to
analyze rap music using Claymation to simulate murder,
whether that could constitute a crime,
honestly I probably wouldn't have questioned it
given how strange the last few years have been.
But let's dive into this thing.
And as I mentioned, in Ye's song "Eazy",
one of the lyrics threatens to,
"Beat Pete Davidson's ass."
And in the first "Eazy" music video,
he beheads and then buries a Claymation Pete Davidson,
and in the next video Ye has an animated Davidson
beaten up by a monkey.
Now in response to criticism,
Ye wrote on an Instagram post that art is therapy
and denied that he was making threats.
"Art is not a proxy for ill or harm.
Any suggestion otherwise about my art
is false and mal intended."
So, did Ye commit a crime in his music videos
by threatening to beat up Davidson
while attacking animated representations of Davidson?
And does Pete Davidson have any grounds
for a civil harassment restraining order against Ye?
Well, Davidson's public statements
that he's not afraid of Ye is probably not
going to help his case for threatening this
as criminal conduct.
Furthermore, the leaked text messages
between Ye and Davidson purport to show Davidson
eager to meet Ye in public to talk things out,
which undermines a claim that Davidson feels stalked
or harassed or suffering from actionable sustained fear.
And furthermore, the first amendment gives a lot of leeway
to artists and gives a broad right to depict
exaggerated violence against public figures
so long as they don't directly declare their intention
to actually hurt another person
or encourage others to do so.
Like when Kathy Griffin controversially held
a mock severed head of then president Trump.
It might have been in poor taste
and knocked her from the coveted C list to D list
but it probably broke no laws.
Given Ye's denial that he intended to threaten Davidson
and Davidson's lack of fear,
Ye's musical mutilation is likely not a crime.
Now that being said, there could be some
really severe consequences for Kanye,
at least concerning his visitation rights
and custody of his children.
For restrained persons, a restraining order
can have very serious consequences,
particularly in the context of domestic violence.
And if Kardashian successfully wins
a domestic violence restraining order against Ye,
he could lose custody of his young children
and even lose the right to be in their lives entirely.
California law has special rules
for custody and visitation rights
when it comes to domestic violence.
And a judge will treat your case
as a domestic violence matter if one,
a parent has been convicted of domestic violence
against the other parent in the last five years,
or two, any court has decided that one parent
committed domestic violence against another parent
or the children.
And in fact, under California law,
a judge cannot award custody joint or otherwise
to the parent who committed domestic violence
unless that abusive parent meets the burden
to show among other things that custody
is in the best interest of the children,
the abusive parent committed a 52 week
batter intervention program
and has completed any court ordered
substance abuse counseling or parenting class,
has complied with any restraining orders
and has not committed any further domestic violence.
If Kardashian obtains a domestic violence restraining order,
it's possible though, not incredibly likely,
that Ye could lose all right to custody,
be subject to supervised visitation
or even be ordered to stay at least a hundred yards
away from his ex and their young children.
Ye could be ordered to stop communicating
with Kardashian and Davidson both directly
and indirectly via social media.
And in fact, the family law judge handling divorce
could order Ye to stop discussing the divorce,
his kids and his ex-wife's new boyfriend with the public
if Kardashian proves that she feels threatened
or harmed by this conduct.
Now throughout this entire ordeal,
Ye has maintained that he's always been acting
in the best interest of his children,
but if Ye doesn't get his act together
and stop with this bizarre
and potentially menacing behavior,
he risks losing his family forever.
Now with situations like these
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