Yesterday, Kanye West fired off a series of concerning tweets, in which he claimed that his wife, Kim Kardashian, was trying to get him "locked up" and seemed to criticize her for her past leaked sex tape and Playboy cover. He also said that Kim's mom, Kris Jenner, was "not allowed around [his] children."
Kanye's remarks quickly went viral, with many Twitter users making jokes about the situation. But one person was not here for any snark: Halsey.
Halsey has been open about her own bipolar diagnosis and has often used her platform to educate her fans about the disorder. And in a statement posted to Twitter last night, Halsey urged people not to mock mental illness or "vilify" those who live with it:
No jokes right now. I have dedicated my career to offering education and insight about bipolar disorder and I’m so disturbed by what I’m seeing. Personal opinions about someone aside, a manic episode isnt a joke. If you can’t offer understanding or sympathy, offer your silence.
"Personal opinions about someone aside, a manic episode isn't a joke," the singer wrote to her 12.9 million followers. "If you can’t offer understanding or sympathy, offer your silence."
She reminded her followers that they probably know someone who lives with bipolar disorder, and that mocking it is "the exact triggering shit that causes people to keep quiet about it":
A lot of people you know probably have bipolar disorder and you aren’t aware of it. Taking this opportunity to make offensive remarks and villify people with mental illnesses is really not the way to go...this is the exact triggering shit that causes people to keep quiet about it
Halsey went on to explain how, regardless of what you think of a person's "actions or opinions," making fun of them for a mental health crisis "damages an entire community of sometimes vulnerable people all for a couple of laughs."
you can hate someone’s actions or opinions without contributing to stigma that damages an entire community of sometimes vulnerable people all for a couple of laughs.
And she concluded by telling her followers that making jokes about bipolar episodes "hurts more than the 1 person [you're] angry with":
If you wanna think someone is an asshole, go ahead. Lots of people with mental illnesses are great. Lots of them are assholes. Because they are people. With nuanced personalities. But making jokes specifically targeted towards bipolar hurts more than the 1 person ur angry with.
Sincerely, Human Being with a Decade Long Bipolar Diagnosis.
People on Twitter are praising Halsey for speaking out:
@halsey thank you 🖤 so sad seeing people who claim to care so much about mental illness point and laugh when it becomes funny to them
For many, her words are an important reminder of how we should support and advocate for anyone in our lives who has a mental illness:
@halsey everyone online wants to advocate for mental health until people actually show symptoms it’s so upsetting
@halsey thank you thank you thank you. none of this is funny. I have bipolar disorder too and my episodes are traumatic. Seeing this happen is triggering. How anyone can make jokes is evil.
@halsey One of the first lesson we should all learn “when you can’t be nice, be silent”