Kanye West and Kim Kardashian may be legally single now, but the drama surrounding the celebrities’ split continues. They've gone back and forth via legal documents regarding the “emotional distress” that the rapper’s social media activity has caused his ex, namely through numerous posts to his account about their breakup, co-parenting situation and her boyfriend Pete Davidson. Now, Ye made another legal move just before their March 2 court appearance.
In the “eleventh hour,” as TMZ reports, Kanye West fired his lawyer Chris Melcher, retaining the services of Samantha Spector. Melcher was Ye’s third divorce lawyer. Things had reportedly become strained between the lawyer and his client, as sources said sometimes the rapper just wanted to settle things with Kim Kardashian, and other times he wanted to fight. TMZ reports:
The relationship between Ye and Melcher had become extremely difficult, with little communication.
Kanye West’s reported back-and-forth behavior with his legal team seems to be mirrored in his actions elsewhere. The rapper was publicly pleading for his family to come back together around the same time he reportedly started dating Julia Fox in January. While Fox was apparently unbothered by West’s lingering feelings for his soon-to-be ex-wife, their relationship ended after less than two months. Then on Valentine’s Day, Ye posted about Kim Kardashian and sent her a truck bed full of red roses, but even that grand gesture came amid reports that he’s dating 24-year-old influencer Chaney Jones.
Through it all, Kim Kardashian maintained her wishes to be divorced from Kanye West, and despite the rapper’s objections, a judge declared each of them legally single during court proceedings March 2. Kardashian also dropped “West” from her last name.
In documents filed ahead of the court appearance, which the reality star reportedly attended by video call, Kim Kardashian said she had wanted her marriage to succeed, but she had “come to the realization'' that their relationship could not be saved. She said she wanted to be declared legally single so she and her family could “begin the healing process” and “move forward in this new chapter in our lives.”
The “emotional distress” Kim Kardashian reported stems from weeks of accusations and threats that were made on — and then deleted from — Kanye West’s Instagram account. The rapper had complaints and questions about shared custody after he took issue with their daughter North having a TikTok account and was apparently not invited to daughter Chicago’s birthday party. He accused Kardashian of making him take a drug test and not allowing him to take his children to a basketball game in Chicago.
There were several posts about Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson as well, including one in which Kanye West declared “Civil War” on his ex’s new boyfriend, apparently causing security issues for the comedian. While Ye may have flipped opinions about several things throughout this process, Davidson seems to be an exception.
Hopefully the results of Wednesday’s court appearance can begin the healing process for everyone, but emotions have been running high for weeks now, and it seems unlikely that’s going to change so quickly, especially with Kanye West hiring a new lawyer.
We’ll be able to see more, at least on Kim Kardashian's side of things, when her family's new reality show The Kardashians premieres on Hulu on April 14. In the meantime check out what other new and returning shows are premiering soon on our 2022 TV Schedule.
