OWN's 'Fix My Life' Spiritual Coach Iyanla Vanzant Praying for Kanye West
Iyanla Vanzant, the spiritual coach on OWN Network's "Fix My Life," is praying for Kanye West.
Vanzant has attempted to help people with troubling behavior like rapper DMX, former NFL player Terrell Owens and reality television star Evelyn Lozada. Now, she wants to help 38-year-old rap mogul West.
Last month the rapper publicly engaged in some volatile behavior that included tweets verbally attacking his ex-girlfriend Amber Rose and her child, speaking negatively about producer Bob Ezrin for criticizing his new album, and asking billionaires, including Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, for money. Vanzant thinks West needs an intervention and saw similarities in him to now deceased troubled entertainers indirectly crying out for help.
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"I see something there that represents an imbalance. We've seen this before, we watched it with Whitney, we watched it with Michael (Jackson), we watched it with Phyllis Hyman," Vanzant told Hip Hollywood. "We watch this over and over and we turn our face (thinking) OK somebody will deal with it. No, we need to deal with it. But, we can't deal with it unless he's willing."
While West has admitted to struggling with depression in the past, his friend and Chicago rapper Rhymefest, who helped pen hits like "Jesus Walks" and "New Slaves," recognized that counseling needed to take place.
"My brother needs help, in the form of counseling. Spiritual and mental," Rhymefest tweeted to fans last month. "He should step away from the public and yes men and heal. I love my brother. I pray for his health not our entertainment."
The rapper later spoke to Hip Hollywood about his comments concerning West's spiritual well-being.
"A lot of people try and tear Kanye down, and I just don't want to be used like that because I am a friend. I knew Kanye before he was famous, and I'll know him when the lights go out," he said. "I want my friend to be happy, I want him to be at peace. You know I work with a lot of young people in Chicago and the key to happiness is just being at peace."
Rhymefest ended the conversation by saying, "I want my friend to be at peace and I congratulate him on his album, and I'm glad he's doing well."
Another collaborator of West's is rapper French Montana who appeared on "Larry King Now" March 1 to deny that his fellow rapper has any issues.
"I just spoke to him yesterday. He don't sound like he have problems," Montana said. "I just feel like Kanye West is a genius and all the moves he do is calculated. Everything he says makes headlines. There's a method to his madness."
