Last week Charlamagne tha Godcanceled his TimesTalk on mental health with Kanye, writing on Instagram that he didn’t think the conversation would be “productive.” During his appearance on The Late Show Tuesday night Charlamagne expanded his explanation, detailing why he decided to cancel the event scheduled to take place on Oct. 17.
Charlamagne told Stephen Colbert he hoped to have a conversation with Ye to discuss the rapper's bipolar disorder and open up dialogue about black men dealing with mental health issues. But the Breakfast Club host later changed his mind when he saw Kanye's visit to the White House.
“When I saw him in the White House, he said that he wasn’t on his meds, he had gotten misdiagnosed, he didn’t have bipolar it was sleep deprivation, so I was like ‘I think he needs to figure that out,’” Charlamagne explained. “For what I’m trying to do, which is elevate the conversation of mental health in the black community, and you know try to eradicate the stigma around mental health, I think the conversation would be a distraction.”
Kanye’s team was apparently relieved when the event was canceled. “I waited a day and then I reached out to his team,” he said, explaining how he broke the news to Ye. “They were all kinds of relieved.”
Charlamagne also dispelled rumors that the event was canceled because Kanye was busy in Uganda working on his album and performing charity. “We actually had the conversation when he was in Uganda. He was scheduled to come back from Uganda that Tuesday night, which he still did,” he explained. “He took it well.”
The host used this appearance to promote his new book Shook One, which addresses his personal struggle with anxiety. Watch the entire clip in the video linked up top.
