Kanye West has been involved in a lot of controversy lately, especially regarding more “disturbing” social media activity and Bianca Censori’s nude stunt at the Grammy Awards. Rumors have also spread that since he and his wife have been spending more time in Japan, he hasn’t been around much for the four children he shares with Kim Kardashian. That honestly made it hard to watch North West’s performance at the Hollywood Bowl during the latest episode of The Kardashians.
The latest episode of the famous family’s reality show to hit the 2025 TV schedule delved into Kim Kardashian’s transition to “momager” when North West was offered to sing a song from The Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl. When the night of her performance came, a large contingency of the Kardashian-Jenner family showed up to support the budding tween star, and that included her father Ye. Kim said on the show:
Kanye and I want the best for the kids, and so anytime we’re here supporting our child, it’s always good vibes.
Given that the latest headlines regarding Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s co-parenting relationship have suggested she’s carrying the lion’s share, I was surprised to see the rapper’s surprise cameo on The Kardashians (but completely unsurprised that he wanted to change the graphics for The Lion King’s production). However, then I remembered that the performance actually took place back in May 2024.
It often bothers me how outdated The Kardashians is, because by the time episodes air, we’ve usually seen these events play out in real-time in the headlines or on social media. This whole storyline with North West bummed me out on a whole new level just knowing that less than a year later, those vibes between Kim Kardashian and Ye might not be as good as they were.
Last spring, though, he was apparently very involved in North West’s rehearsals and the decision to allow her to do The Lion King performance in the first place. Kim Kardashian said she and her ex-husband had a family meeting, and Ye thought it sounded like a “cool” opportunity.
He was shown on the episode, aptly titled “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King,” praying with North before she took the stage and praising her performance afterward as he walked with Saint and Chicago.
Even Kim Kardashian didn’t likely foresee the brouhaha that would come from the Grammys red carpet (which Ye and Bianca Censori were invited to, despite rumors), but she did hint at Ye’s personality “changes” being one cause of their eventual split on a previous episode of The Kardashians Season 6 (available to stream with a Hulu subscription).
When discussing Khloé Kardashian’s awkward reunion with ex-husband Lamar Odom, Kim said:
That’s the hardest part. I’ve been there. When you don’t foresee something happening that really changes a person’s personality and then they’re not the same person and you can’t ever get that person back, but you can’t live with the new person. I get it.
It’s been a tough situation between the two, without a doubt, and it was honestly hard to see them successfully co-parenting at North’s performance — like they always have, going to Saint’s soccer games or North’s basketball games — knowing that that relationship may have changed again in the months that followed.
