Kanye West Goes on Instagram Rant About Upcoming Netflix Documentary ‘Jeen-Yuhs’

Kanye West is demanding the final edit and approval on the upcoming documentary Jeen-Yuhs before it premieres at the Sundance Film Festival Sunday and Netflix next month. The Grammy-winning rapper took to Instagram on Friday to insist he “be in charge of [his] own image,” when it comes to the three-part documentary. 

“I’m going to say this kindly for the last time,” West wrote on Instagram. “I must get final edit and approval on this doc before it releases on Netflix.” He continued, “Open the edit room immediately so I can be in charge of my own image. Thank you in advance.” Jeen-Yuhs, directed by Clarence “Coodie” Simmons andChike Ozah, follows West’s life over the past two decades, following his rise as an artist, the death of his mother Donda West and his failed presidential campaign.

While West has famously been controlling of his own image, Simmons told Variety in a recent interview that it was he and Ozah who had the final cut on the documentary. “I said, ‘Dude, you have to trust me.’ And he did, 100%,” the director explained. “Mind you, when his team and the business-people have gotten involved, they’re of course going to have their say. But I needed to tell this story. It’s not about making Kanye likable or not. The footage doesn’t lie. What makes the film special is that it’s not something definitive; it’s his journey through my vision.”

Both Simmons and Ozah felt like there were several times over the past two decades that the film could have been cut and released, but West’s story has changed so many times. “I was always arguing with people that this dude is about to win Grammys,” Simmons said. “That was the main goal of the doc was to see if he achieved that. But we always say, you can’t let your imagination get in the way of God’s manifestation. I’ve seen the Grammys, but God had something way more in mind for Kanye – he had running for president in mind for Kanye.”

Ozah thinks West’s life story resonates for people in many ways because of how the rapper never let adversity “cripple” him. “He didn’t cower to it – he met it head on,” the director explained. “He leveraged every loss to light his fire. That’s the mindset when you’re operating in your gift – you have to believe the doors will open for you and continue to put in the work. Kanye never stopped, and neither did we.”