By Tori Umeda, Feb. 25, 2025
Controversial rapper Kanye West attended the 67th Annual Grammy Awards with his wife, model and architect Bianca Censori, who took off her fur coat and revealed a transparent short slip dress that displayed her naked body.
The staff of the Recording Academy immediately disapproved. Law enforcement escorted the couple off the carpet and asked them to leave. They believed Censori’s outfit violated the event’s formal “black-tie” dress code.
It is not only a moment used to invoke shock value from the general public but a moment that calls the dynamic between husband and wife into question, particularly the erratic behavior West has recently demonstrated, the objectification that women in the public eye like Censori face, and how abuse of power often goes unchecked by those running influential systems like Hollywood.
West has garnered media attention over the past few years for publicly endorsing President Donald Trump and making multiple offensive comments toward the Jewish and Black communities. These controversies ultimately led to his divorce from media personality and socialite Kim Kardashian, with whom he shares four children.
He has only continued his downward career spiral since then.
West’s latest album, Vultures 2, was recently met with low ratings and poor reception. Many listeners felt that the album was almost like a “posthumous release” as it was a product that didn’t sound “finished” yet.
And most recently, West’s website for his fashion brand, Yeezy, has been deactivated from all online sources after promoting a shirt with the Nazi swastika on the front of it.
While some have said that West’s behavior is partly caused by his recent autism diagnosis, it doesn’t make him immune to consequences for his actions. He’s shown to live a lifestyle that only enables his manic neuroticism, making him a liability to those around him.
Before they met, Censori grew up in Melbourne, Australia, where she graduated from the University of Melbourne, earning a master’s degree in architecture. She has since worked working as an architect for West’s Yeezy brand since 2020.
However, Censori’s Grammy Awards outfit has raised questions about the imbalance of control in the marriage. Based on findings from Today News, many experts have expressed their belief that West decided on Censori’s dress, and Censori submitting to what he wanted from her was a clear sign of a toxic, red-flag relationship.
According to Yahoo Entertainment, the cameras caught one moment on the Grammys Red Carpet that seemed to show Censori trying to back out of the stunt by refusing West’s request to take off her fur coat. But West kept insisting that she needed to “make a scene.”
Other observers noticed that Censori’s fashion, makeup, and physical features are similar to Kim Kardashian’s. When they were still a couple, Kardashian said West oversaw her closet and everything she decided to wear—hinting that he is repeating the same pattern with Censori.
If he was behind the stunt from the beginning, then it is clear that he views her as nothing more than a doll he can control.
Also, it took the attention away from many other people who were at Crypto.com Arena that night to celebrate important musical achievements and milestones. Such as performances from rising artists like Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, Beyoncé’s winning Best Country Album and Album of the Year, and honoring the Los Angeles Fire Department for its work in handling the Palisades and Eaton fires.
This shocking display of crudeness says a lot about the role that both spouses play in this unconventional yet toxic relationship. For West, it’s leaving many of his issues unresolved and possessing control over others to bury that trauma. For Censori, it’s being used as a puppet by her volatile husband, and her suffering in silence because of his actions.
All that was taken away from this public stunt of warped intimacy is that this relationship is bound by control rather than love. And it is sure to implode at any given moment.
Feature image by Connor Lālea Hampton
