Kanye West Cloned / Body Double Theory

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About

The Kanye West Cloned Theory or Kanye West Body Double Theory is a conspiracy theory speculating that rapper Kanye West was cloned or replaced with a body double. Theories about West being cloned first became popularized online in 2016 after he dyed his hair blonde and began showing support for Donald Trump. The theory gained increased virality throughout 2023 with believers in the theory using several photos and videos of West and his new wife Bianca Censori dressed in what was perceived by some as strange attire as evidence that he was cloned and replaced.

Origin

On February 13th, 2015, prior to genuine conspiracy theories about Kanye West being cloned, the satirical news site Waterford Whispers News^[1] posted an article claiming that West announced plans to clone himself. On May 19th, 2016, West appeared on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show and went on a rant that some sites reported as "bizarre" (shown below).^[2] That July, several Twitter^[3]^[4] users shared a now-deleted video about the rant, describing it as a "Kanye Clone Malfunction."

Donald Marshall's "REM Clones" Theory

On October 21st, 2016, conspiracy theorist Donald Marshall, who is focused on exposing Illuminati conspiracies and purportedly has first-hand experience with the Illuminati, published a magazine, available on Joomag,^[5] titled, "Exposing the Illuminati's REM Driven Human Cloning Subculture, Volume 2." In the magazine, consisting of content written in 2012, he answers questions about his claims that he and other elites have "REM driven clones," meaning a clone that is only active when the original is in REM sleep and goes limp when they wake up. On page 151 of the magazine, Marshall claims his REM clone wrote the Kanye West song "Heartless" at the request of Kanye's REM clone, also giving Kanye the "gimmick" of wearing "nerdy sweaters" (excerpt shown below).

On November 13th, Twitter^[6] users began sharing a quote by Donald Marshall further claiming that West and other rappers are clones (shown below).

Spread

On December 8th and 16th, 2016, Unilad^[7] and Uproxx^[8] reported on Twitter^[9] users increasingly sharing theories that Kanye West is a clone, with many making these claims based on his dyed-blonde hair and his support for Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.

On October 21st, 2022, shortly after his antisemitic tweet about going "death con 3 on Jewish people," UnCrazed uploaded a video to YouTube^[11] of an interview with West where he says, "If I ever went anywhere, we'd know why" (shown below). On December 4th, Deadline^[10] reported on a now-deleted Instagram post by West in which he suggests that Elon Musk is a clone. That same month, West appeared on InfoWars and went on further anti-semitic rants, leading to him being dropped by Adidas. Shortly after this, West largely backed out of the public eye.

In January 2023, West was reportedly seen for the first time after reports that he "went missing" when his business manager claimed he was unable to contact him.^[12]

On February 11th, 2023, TikToker^[13]^[14] @ladyterra_ posted several videos claiming that newly surfaced photos of West with his new wife Bianca Censori do not actually feature West, but perhaps a body double (shown below, left and right). In one video, she paints the clip where West says "If I ever went anywhere, we'd know why" as evidence that he was replaced. The first video gained over 560,000 views in four months.

The TikToker also posted a now-deleted video where she examines recent photos of West and his new wife Bianca Censori, claiming that discrepancies in their height compared to West standing next to Kim Kardashian suggest that this is not the same Kanye. Perez Hilton reacted to the video on YouTube that day, garnering over 60,000 views in four months (shown below).

The theory continued to spread over the following months. On May 26th, TikToker @brodyjironews posted a video showing recent footage of West with Censori, tagging the video with both "#bodydouble" and "#clone," garnering over 100,000 views in two weeks (shown below, left). On the same day, TikToker @thegameoffameofficial posted a video suggesting he has been replaced, garnering over 900,000 views in the same span of time (shown below, right).