A public stunt, almost certainly inspired by non-pecuniary motives, appears likely to result in substantial pecuniary consequences.
According to the UK’s Daily Mail, 47-year-old rapper Kanye West and his wife, 30-year-old Australian architecture graduate Bianca Censori, committed an unfathomable outrage on the red carpet outside the Grammy Awards show on Sunday when they revealed Censori’s mesh outfit, which covered almost no part of her totally naked body.
Meanwhile, sources in Tokyo, Japan, have said that the stunt will probably cost West $20 million.
Japanese investors, horrified by the display, will likely withdraw support for two scheduled shows at the Tokyo Dome in May.
In fact, one Tokyo-based source called the stunt “creepy beyond belief.”
Another source described investors’ reactions in more detail.
“The investors in Japan who are backing the concerts are extremely upset by this. It is highly likely that they will pull the funding for the shows,” the source said, adding that West “has greatly misjudged the tolerance of the Japanese people towards these activities. He’s just not welcome anymore. This will be a big blow for him because he has been living in Japan for around a year now, almost full time, and I guess he did not see this coming.”
In truth, West and Censori appeared to engage in something more than public nudity for the sake of shock value.
The Mail described West as “issuing commands to Censori.” According to a lip reader, he instructed her to “make a scene.” Before she dropped her black fur coat to reveal her “outfit,” he told her to “[d]rop it behind you and then turn, I got you.’”
Should West and Censori have been arrested for outrageous public display?
West’s “commands” introduced a new element into the stunt. Citing what it called “the feeling among his circle,” the Mail characterized the stunt as “acting out a shared exhibitionist/voyeuristic kink.”
Moreover, the Mail used the phrase “unhealthily submissive” to describe the way Censori’s friends and family view her marriage. West, for instance, reportedly controls what his wife wears and what foods she eats.
Furthermore, the couple has a recent history of public exhibitionism, including a 2023 incident that prompted a police investigation.
In other words, for those who prefer broad labels, the West-Censori relationship appears to have elements of BDSM. And they have taken those elements public.
This seems like a good time to point out that Christians, as a whole, tend to show remarkable forbearance. Of course, one must call it “forbearance” rather than “tolerance” because the latter, in modern parlance, implies approval. The former, on the other hand, merely signifies restraint of action.
That restraint in the face of something we might disapprove flows from our belief that God gave us free will. We must, therefore, avoid taking the kind of action against our neighbors’ private, legal, and consenting behavior that would constitute a usurpation of God’s sole right of judgment.
That forbearance ends, however, when the behavior enters the public arena.
Moreover, a scene such as the one that unfolded on the red carpet Sunday requires Christians to tell the truth. After all, we cannot lie and pretend that a husband may publicly exploit his wife, no matter the reason. Her apparent consent, tacit or otherwise, changes nothing.
In fact, some observers have suggested, perhaps with cheekiness, that the matter of Censori’s “consent” remains an open question.
On the social media platform X, for instance, one user described Censori as having “resting hostage face.”
Ye’s wife has resting hostage face.
— Bridget Phetasy (@BridgetPhetasy) February 3, 2025
Another X user took the “hostage” characterization more seriously.
“Since the day I saw Kanye West’s wife, Bianca Censori, first appear in public half naked, with a blank look that I recognized, I had a gut feeling this wasn’t by choice. She looks humiliated at the Grammys tonight,” the user wrote.
Since the day I saw Kanye West’s wife, Bianca Censori, first appear in public half naked, with a blank look that I recognized, I had a gut feeling this wasn’t by choice. She looks humiliated at the Grammys tonight.
— Kambree (@KamVTV) February 3, 2025
Whether or not Censori willingly participated in the stunt, another X user blamed West.
“Also, @kanyewest, you may be male, but you are not a man. Shame on you for humiliating your wife that way in front of the whole world,” the user wrote.
Please stop reposting the Kanye/Bianca Censori video into my timeline.
Also, @kanyewest, you may be male, but you are not a man. Shame on you for humiliating your wife that way in front of the whole world.
Repent.
— John William Sherrod (@jwsherrod) February 3, 2025
Indeed, many men probably feel torn between the urge to chastise Censori and the urge to rescue her.
In the end, one hopes that the potential $20 million loss will give West a much-needed wake-up call.
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