Kanye West Defends His Anti-Abortion Stance in Netflix’s ‘Jeen-Yuhs’ Documentary

Netflix’s Kanye West documentary, jeen-yuhs—a three-part series that aired its final episode today—is mostly about the old Kanye. Despite the rapper’s recent bout in the controversial celebrity news cycle, those looking for gossip about the current state of Ye were more or less disappointed, given that the first two feature-length episodes featured footage of West before he released his game-changing 2006 debut rap album, The College Dropout.

But in the final half of the third episode—titled act iii: AWAKENING—the documentary’s co-director, Clarence “Coodie” Simmons, gets a chance to catch up with his old friend Ye in 2020. But not all Kanye West fans will be happy to hear what the new Ye has to say, particularly when it comes to his vehement stance against abortion.

If you were following Ye (as he now officially goes by) in 2020, you’ll probably remember his foray into politics, including his 2020 run for president. You’ll likely also remember his first presidential campaign rally in July 2020, when West broke down crying on stage as he explained why he was against abortion. “My mom saved my life. My dad wanted to abort me. My mom saved my life,” he said crying, later yelling through tears, “I almost killed my daughter.” He proposed banning the Plan B pill and offering financial support for women to take care of their children.

Following the rally, West’s former wife Kim Kardashian came to his defense, citing West’s trauma and bipolar disorder. But in the third episode of jeen-Yuhs, West stood firm on his anti-abortion stance. In one clip in the documentary after the campaign event, West says, with a note of frustration in his voice, “Y’all trying to make me look crazy for crying about abortion,” he said.

West continued, “A lot of people were calling me, ‘I hope you’re OK.’ Man, the world ain’t OK! Sick motherf-ckers! If somebody got an abortion on TV, y’all would be like, ‘Oh man, that’s cool.’ If I said that my dad almost aborted Kanye West, and that Kanye West almost aborted North West, and I’m crying about it, you want to make me look like I’m motherf-cking crazy.”

Later still in the episode, West is talking to his father on the phone, and his father tells him that he’s concerned about him. West responds, “Well, when you go out and say things like ‘No abortion,’ you know how the media’s gonna be. That’s a very strong, Christian statement. Christians are scrutinized and killed for our beliefs and following the word of God. I use my voice, and I won’t not use my voice.”

After a moment, his father replies, “I’m just saying, write your speech next time.”

Later still in the episode, Coodie films West while the rapper is watching a video of conservative Fox News host Tucker Carlson on his phone. Carlson defends West’s breakdown at the presidential rally, and West expresses his gratitude for the validation, even as Coodie advises him to stop listening to Carlson; that the Fox News host is taking West’s words out of context.

“This is facts, bro!” West shouts back at Coodie. “He’s putting them in context!”

That footage of West is nearly two years old by now, pre-dating his public break-up with Kim Kardashian in 2021. But that doesn’t make it any easier for fans of the rapper to watch.

All three episodes of jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy are now streaming on Netflix.

Watch Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy on Netflix