Kanye West Was On That Stuff

Kanye West was hospitalized for an alleged nervous breakdown in 2016, but there may be more to his struggles than that. West, 40, reportedly told Hot 97 host Ebro Darden that he was suffering from opioid addiction at the time.

Darden claimed on Hot 97’s “Ebro in the Morning” on Monday that during a far-ranging conversation with the rapper over the weekend (which was sparked by West’s recent political tweets), West told him, “Nobody really showed love for me when I was addicted to opioids and in the hospital.”

Darden, 41, said he told West that several friends tried to reach out to him when he was unwell.

It’s the first time that anyone has claimed on the record that opioid addiction drove West to his health crisis.

Sources previously told Page Six that West was suffering from exhaustion and that his breakdown was triggered by wife Kim Kardashian’s harrowing Paris robbery, as well as the anniversary of his mother Donda’s death.

While West hasn’t publicly commented on any alleged opioid use, he’s previously rapped about medications used for mental health issues. On “F.M.L.,” a track from 2016’s “Life of Pablo,” West raps, “You ain’t never seen nothing crazier than this n—a when he off his Lexapro.”

Lexapro is a drug commonly used to treat depression and anxiety disorders.

In February, West settled a $10 million lawsuit he’d filed against Lloyd’s of London, the insurer backing his Saint Pablo tour, which he abruptly canceled in the wake of his alleged meltdown. The company initially refused to pay out West’s policy, TMZ reported, alleging that marijuana use led to his breakdown. West’s attorney denied the allegations.

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