Kim Kardashian is seen breaking down in tears over her ex-husband Kanye West in a raw and emotional moment captured in the upcoming documentary In Whose Name?, offering the public an intimate look at the couple’s strained relationship during a turbulent chapter in West’s life.
The film, directed by Nicolas Ballesteros, is set to premiere in theaters on September 19. Its newly released trailer, unveiled on Wednesday, August 13, reveals an unfiltered portrayal of West’s struggles with mental health, public controversy, and the unraveling of his marriage to Kardashian.
A Rare Glimpse Into a Private Low Point
In one particularly tense scene featured in the trailer, Kardashian, 44, tearfully tells West, 48: “Your personality was not like this a few years ago.”
West responds sharply: “Never tell me I’m gonna wake up one day and have nothing.”
When Kardashian tries to de-escalate by saying, “We can talk about that later, but…,” West cuts her off with, “It ain’t no ‘but.’”
These moments, filmed over a six-year period, capture what Ballesteros describes as a period marked by West’s “collapsing marriage, vanishing sponsorships, and growing public backlash.”
According to the film’s official synopsis, In Whose Name? delves deep into West’s personal and professional challenges, including his battle with bipolar disorder. The documentary promises “rare insight into the realities of mental illness and its impact on identity, perception, and power,” showing both West’s vulnerable and defiant sides.
The Rise and Fall of a High-Profile Marriage
Kardashian and West married in 2014 in a lavish ceremony in Florence, Italy, and went on to have four children together: North, 12; Saint, 9; Chicago, 7; and Psalm, 7. Kardashian filed for divorce in February 2021, with proceedings finalized in November 2022. One month later, West reportedly married Australian architect Bianca Censori.
Despite their separation, Kardashian has publicly spoken about her efforts to shield their children from West’s erratic public behavior. Appearing on the Angie Martinez IRL podcast in December 2022, she explained:
“I definitely protected him, and I still will in the eyes of my kids. So, in my home, my kids don’t know anything that goes on in the outside world.”
She detailed how she works closely with teachers at her children’s school to monitor conversations, and even continues to play West’s music in the car on the way to school, saying:
“[I can] act like nothing is wrong and as soon as I drop them off, I can have a good cry.”
West’s career took a sharp downturn in the months following the divorce filing. In late 2022, major brands including Adidas, Gap, and Balenciaga severed ties with him after he made a series of antisemitic remarks on social media. The controversy escalated when he attempted to enter Skechers’ Los Angeles headquarters in October 2022 without authorization, prompting company executives to escort him out.
Earlier this year, West drew even more backlash for releasing a song titled Heil Hitler, which openly praised Adolf Hitler, the Nazi dictator responsible for the Holocaust. Following widespread outrage, West later appeared to express remorse, posting on X (formerly Twitter) in May:
“God forgive me for the pain I’ve caused. I simply got a FaceTime from my kids and I wanna save the world again.”
With Whose Name?, Ballesteros has assembled a deeply personal chronicle of a globally recognized artist navigating public scandal, personal breakdowns, and the cost of fame. For viewers, the film offers both a behind-the-scenes look at the real human struggles behind the headlines and a study of how mental health challenges intersect with celebrity, identity, and public perception.
Given the raw nature of the trailer, the film is expected to provoke strong reactions not just from West’s fans and critics, but also from those following ongoing conversations about mental illness, accountability, and privacy in the age of social media.