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Kanye West’s documentary In Whose Name premiered on September 19, 2025, and quickly caused a stir online. The film gives an unfiltered look at his life, covering both his professional achievements and personal relationships, including his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her mother, Kris Jenner. The documentary also sparked concerns about Kim’s public image.
Kim Kardashian has always worked hard to maintain a polished, “perfect” image and keeps her private struggles away from the media. Sources told The U.S. Sun that she was anxious about being shown in a vulnerable, raw light in Kanye’s documentary. She feared footage of her personal life being released without her control. One source explained, “Kim’s biggest nightmare is having something that is deeply personal, like video footage, out there in the world that she has no control over.”
The documentary was filmed over six years by director Nico Ballesteros, capturing private moments during and toward the end of Kim and Kanye’s marriage. According to the source, Kim was uncomfortable because she had no say in what ended up in the final cut. They added, “At the time when the film director was doing all the footage, following Kanye around, it was a really dark time in her life. In the distraction of everything that followed, it’s like she had forgotten the ‘teenager’ who had the camera stuck to him 24/7 – and she had always assumed there was no way Kanye would just let it get this far.”
Many might wonder why Kim was so cautious, considering she starred in Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The difference, she felt, was control. On her own show, she could decide what was shown, like her brief marriage and divorce from Kris Humphries, which she deemed appropriate for public view. In Kanye’s documentary, she had no control over the editing or content, which made her anxious about how she would appear.
The documentary also shows Kim giving Kanye tough advice about his career. She warned him that if he continued his dramatic behavior and tendency to “burn bridges,” he might one day “wake up and have nothing.” A heated phone call from 2018 is shown, following Kanye’s controversial visit to the White House to meet President Donald Trump. Kim pointed out that his personality had changed over the years and that he no longer needed to throw tantrums when things didn’t go his way.