Kanye West cleared of charges over phone-throwing incident with female photographer
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Kanye West will not be prosecuted for throwing a female photographer's cellphone during a confrontation in January, as the device only sustained minor damage to its protective case, according to the Ventura Co District Attorney's Office. As per TMZ's report, the Ventura Co District Attorney's Office confirmed on Wednesday that the cellphone had incurred negligible harm to its $30 protective cover.
The woman involved declined to press charges against the rapper, and police named him as a suspect in a battery case after being shown video evidence of the incident, which was shared on social media. In the footage, West can be seen engaging in a heated argument with the photographer before snatching her phone and throwing it away.
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What was the incident?
On Friday, January 28, West was on his way to attend his nine-year-old daughter North and seven-year-old son Saint's basketball game in Los Angeles when he allegedly confronted a female photographer who he suspected was following him. The rapper can be seen exiting his black Mercedes-Benz and approaching the woman in her vehicle in a video shared on social media. His new partner, Bianca Censori, was in the passenger seat of the car but did not accompany the Grammy Award winner. West can be heard telling the woman, "You didn't have to run up on me like that. If I say stop, stop with your cameras!" The woman argued that she had a right to film him because he is a celebrity, to which West replied, "It's a human right not to be harassed." It's unclear what triggered the confrontation, but it allegedly took place near the sports facility where his children were playing.
West's ex-wife, Kim, was also present at the game along with her sister Khloe Kardashian's ex-partner, Tristan Thompson. According to reports, after the incident, West stopped in front of a group of paparazzi who had been recording the entire episode and asked, "You want me to be running up on your kids' games like that?" When a paparazzo replied that there were a hundred of them, West pleaded, "Everybody needs to stop when I see my kids. If I need to see my kids, you can't photograph me. It's called human rights."
Previous anger issues of Kanye
West's life has taken a downward spiral, resulting in severe consequences that have had a domino effect on both his personal and professional life, as well as the country as a whole. He sparked controversy when he released Yeezy T-shirts with 'White Lives Matter' printed on them, leading to heavy criticism from the African American community. However, this was just the beginning of West's hate spree, which extended to anti-Semitic comments, leading to a significant degradation in his life graph.
There is a misdemeanor battery investigation against Kanye West for allegedly punching an autograph-seeking fan last year. Despite the investigation, West has a history of avoiding jail time and other harsh penalties for his past violent outbursts. West has faced similar charges before, having been arrested twice for attacking photographers in public. In both cases, he was ordered to undergo anger management counseling by the court. As one judge put it, "Mr. West needs to take responsibility for his actions and figure out why he is prone to violent outbursts." In 2008, West was arrested for felony vandalism and battery after a physical altercation with a photographer at the Los Angeles International Airport. Then, in 2013, he was arrested again for another altercation at the same airport.