Charlamagne says he canceled Kanye West TimesTalk because “It’d be a distraction”

“I just didn’t think it’d be a good conversation.”

October 24, 2018

On Tuesday night, Charlamagne shed some light on why he canceled his New York Times-hosted mental health TimesTalk with Kanye West, Billboard notes. While stopping by The Late Show to promote his new book Shook Ones, the Breakfast Club host said that Kanye's recent manic interviews at the White House and with TMZ's Harvey Levin have raised red flags regarding the musician's mental health.

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"He talked about not being on his meds...Let's have a conversation about that," Charlamagne said. "Why are you not on your medication? And then when I saw him at the White House, he said he wasn't on his meds, he had gotten misdiagnosed, he had sleep deprivation... He needs to figure that out."

Charlamagne also said that he hoped the two would be able to elevate the conversation about mental health in the black community, but believes West's outward comments about not taking his medication is counterproductive to the talk's main goal.

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“For what I’m trying to do which is like elevate the conversation of mental health in the black community and you know, try to eradicate the stigma around mental health, I just didn’t think it’d be a good conversation,” he said. "It'd be a distraction."

Earlier this year, Kanye and Charlamagne held a two-hour interview at West's home in Calabasas. The two spoke on a number of things including mental health.

Watch above.

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Charlamagne says he canceled Kanye West TimesTalk because “It’d be a distraction”