Kanye West and his “wife” Bianca Censori have spent the past week sauntering around Italy on a bizarre Roman holiday as he prepares for his very own Renaissance.
They’ve shown up to a fancy hotel dinner and a gelato shop in Florence, and a Travis Scott concert in Rome, barefoot. Censori, 28 — often clad in sheer, skintight outfits that resemble stockings and shapewear — also ambled about the streets of Florence in a barely-there bikini top, leggings and no shoes while West, ironically, visited a fabric factory in the city’s Prato East district.
Jason Lee, host of “Hollywood Unlocked” — who spent seven months working as West’s head of media and partnerships until he quit in October — told Page Six he’s certain that West and Censori are going barefoot to prove a point and stage a PR stunt.
“I think the fact that people are talking about Kanye’s feet shows just how much power he still has in the wake of cancel culture,” he said. “I think it’s a smart and strategic move. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next time we saw shoes on his feet it would be a project that he designed.”
In his “Saturday Night Live” monologue last November, Dave Chappelle joked that he had never wanted a sneaker deal, “because the minute I say something that makes those people mad, they’re gonna take my sneakers away. Now you see Kanye walking around LA barefoot … This guy lost a billion and a half dollars in a day.”
Last October, West, 46, lost his $1.5 billion Yeezy deal with Adidas, along with partnerships including Balenciaga and Gap, after saying he was going “death con 3 on Jewish people.”
This came after he was slammed for presenting “White Lives Matter” T-shirts at a Paris fashion show, calling the “Black Lives Matter” movement a “scam.”
Page Six has also learned that West’s membership at the exclusive Soho House was revoked.
The rapper holed up at Soho Warehouse in downtown Los Angeles after his 2021 split from Kim Kardashian and recorded much of his “Donda 2” album there.
He also frequented the Austin, Texas, location.
Although West was polite and paid his bill, we’re told, when the anti-semitic quotes hit, Soho House bosses quickly rescinded his membership.
A Soho House spokesperson said: “We don’t comment on membership or members.”
“He’s a cultural icon, he has mental health issues and both of those things can coexist in a world. But he doesn’t recognize the power of his words,” Lee said.
“One of the last things I said to him, via text, was that the power of Kanye is about creating. He has the power and he can exercise it for his benefit or detriment. He makes the choice.”
But even with the erratic behavior from West — he has referred to his bipolar disorder diagnosis as “a superpower” — it was still a surprise when it was revealed he had “married” Censori, a Kardashian lookalike who worked as an architectural designer at his Yeezy fashion line.
TMZ reported in January the pair had a non-binding wedding ceremony and they both now wear wedding rings.
Censori, who comes from Melbourne, Australia, has chopped off her long dark hair and now wears clothing that only seeks to show off her curves.
“As far as molding Bianca and turning her into his muse, he’s been doing that forever — from Amber Rose to Kim,” said Lee. “These women are not robots — they’re a part of it.
“We saw Kim’s wardrobe before she got with Kanye. She became a fashion icon after meeting him. She wasn’t on the cover of Vogue before him. She benefited, she got the Balenciaga deal. All these women want something and he wants something from them.”
Lee added: “Kanye and Kim had the same level of narcissism and interest in being famous and powerful and rich, those interests aligned.”
One female celebrity told Page Six: “What I find interesting is that when Kanye changes, the woman next to him changes as well. It is like a prerequisite to stand beside him and be his woman: the hair, the style of dress, the overall look … [and] the body type — he likes curves and booty.”
While in Rome, West made his musical comeback on stage with Travis Scott, performing two songs.
“Only one human being on this motherf—ing planet that has ever walked side by side with me through anything and every motherf—ing thing,” Scott — who has two children with Kardashian’s sister Kylie Jenner — reportedly told the audience.
West has been laying low since his divorce from Kardashian was finalized in November.
The pair share four children, North, 9, Saint, 7, Chicago, 5, and four-year-old Psalm.
But West made their divorce difficult as he attempted to get his kids enrolled at his Donda Academy, a private prep school in Simi Valley that has been beset by troubles including a discrimination lawsuit by former teachers who claim students were not allowed to go outside and forced to eat sushi lunches.
Kardashian has custody of the children, we’re told now, but does her best to make sure her ex has a close relationship with them.
He and Censori were seen at dinner with North, while sources told us that Kardashian made sure to time a July trip to Japan, where her soccer-mad son Saint watched Paris St Germain play Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in Osaka, with West and Censori’s own visit to Tokyo.
After splitting with Kardashian, West frequently chopped and changed the staff around him as one industry insider who worked with him said: “His team was always changing, it was an interesting time.” Another source said: “People are afraid of Kanye, he’s so vocal and he’s always speaking out, they’re afraid to upset him.”
In June, the US Sun reported that West had hired disgraced former American Apparel founder Dov Charney — who was fired over alleged misconduct — to revive Yeezy.
“I don’t know who’s around him now, but I hope he finds the right people,” Lee said, adding of the relationship with Censori: “He seems to be happy, I like to see that he’s smiling, and she’s smiling.
“I pray that he finds help. He is a good person, a good-hearted person. I want to see him healed and healthy … and also responsible with the words he choses.”
This content was originally published here.