Kanye West broke down in tears during an interview with BBC Radio 1 on Thursday when talking about the death of fashion professor and friend Louise Wilson.

Kanye West Cries Speaking About The Death Of Louise Wilson

Over one year ago, West sat down with BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe for an explosive interview, where, among many things, he called himself a god and criticized the fashion world for shutting him out as a celebrity. Now, fresh off his New York Fashion Week debut with his Yeezy Adidas line, West gave a very different kind of interview, showing off a softer, less self-important, side.

The most insightful part of West’s most recent 40-minute interview with Lowe came 25-minutes in, when West remembered his last interaction with renowned fashion professor Louise Wilson, who died last year. West spoke of Wilson, calling her the best in her field, likening meeting her and working with her to his recent collaborations with Paul McCartney.

“You know, I went to Louise Wilson’s memorial. You know, the greatest fashion instructor of all time – and I’m talking about of all timers…Louise Wilson was the baddest professor of all time of any fashion school ever – notorious for not letting people stop at a 7 or 8, pushing people to a 12,” West began.

West and Wilson reportedly met sometime around 2011, when West was spotted visiting the Central Saint Martin’s MA Fashion program, where Wilson worked. And, it appears that they maintained a relationship over the years. In the BBC Radio 1 interview, West recounted the last time he saw Wilson, when they shared a dinner in London:

“I think that she knew that she was going to pass, and she just wanted to give me some words of advice moving forward and she was asking me about my daughter, asked me about my wife…and she said, you know, ‘So many students, they don’t give it their all, and the problem is, soon as they do anything halfway good when they’re 2 years old, 3 years old, their parents clap….And she just looked at me and she said, ‘Kanye, don’t clap.’”

West, clearly upset, continued, saying, “I didn’t know we were going to lose her…and she told me, she said, you know, ‘Thank you for the times where I came to performances and this has like really meant a lot to me, with…’”

West trailed off and began to tear up. After a moment, Lowe patted West on the knee and paused the interview for a moment. West left the studio for a moment to ready himself to continue the interview, and when West returned to his seat, he smiled and said, “That’s never happened to me in an interview before…I think I’m good.”

Kanye West: “I’m Super Hypocritical”

Despite the sad moment, West appeared upbeat and humorous throughout the interview, and even joked about his attitude in their last meeting. “Think about the wild s—t I used to say in interviews, and imagine if someone said this very thing to a girl at a bar. ‘Yo, what up baby, I’m a genius.’ That’s who I was, and that was that frustration that I had,” West said, adding that he looks back and recognizes his previous inability to communicate.

When asked about how West feels about being called a hypocrite in the press and media, West admitted he has many hypocritical moments, saying, “Yes. I am. 100%. I’m a human being. I’m super hypocritical. I can feel something one time and completely a different way another time. I do it in the design office, I do it in the studio.”

West also added that he is desperate to give his daughter, North West a sibling, saying, “I try as many times a day as I can…Nori, this one is for you. You need a sibling.”

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.