"Look back on my life like the Ghost of Christmas Past
Toys "R" Us where I used to spend that Christmas cash
And I still won't grow up, I'm a grown-a** kid
Swear I should be locked up for stupid sh*t that I did
But I'm a champion, so I turned tragedy to triumph
Make music that's fire, spit my soul through the wire"

While presenting alongside actor Mike Myers during the live broadcast on September 2, 2005, West deviated from the prepared script. Myers spoke next and continued to read the script. Once it was West's turn to speak again, he said, "George Bush doesn't care about black people." West's comment reached much of the United States, leading to mixed reactions. President Bush would later call it one of the most "disgusting moments" of his presidency.

In April 2012, West began dating reality star Kim Kardashian. West and Kardashian became engaged in October 2013, and married on May 24, 2014, at Fort di Belvedere in Florence, Italy. The couple's high-profile status resulted in their relationship being subject to heavy media coverage, with The New York Times referring to the marriage as "a historic blizzard of celebrity." In April 2021, both West and Kardashian cited "irreconcilable differences" as the cause of divorce and agreed to joint custody of their four children.

During the ceremony, West crashed the stage and grabbed the microphone from Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech for "Best Female Video" in order to proclaim that Beyoncé's video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", nominated for the same award, was "one of the best videos of all time." It was arguably his biggest controversy and led to widespread outrage throughout the music industry.

In June 2016, West released a music video for "Famous" depicting wax figures of West, Swift, Kardashian, George W. Bush, Donald Trump, Anna Wintour, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Ray J, Amber Rose, Caitlyn Jenner and Bill Cosby all sleeping nude in a shared bed. It was released to a polarized response, including President Bush who complained that he didn't like his body double.

"Now, I ain't sayin' you a gold digger, you got needs
You don't want a dude to smoke but he can't buy weed
You go out to eat, he can't pay, y'all can't leave
There's dishes in the back, he gotta roll up his sleeves
But while y'all washin', watch him
He gon' make it to a Benz out of that Datsun"

West enjoys fast food and his favorite chain is McDonald's. He even wrote a poem about it that was featured in the Boys Don't Cry magazine released alongside Frank Ocean's Blond album. Here's an excerpt: "Them french fries look good though / I knew the Diet Coke was jealous of the fries / I knew the McNuggets was jealous of the fries / Even the McRib was jealous of the fries / I could see it through his artificial meat eyes."

Although he is best known for his Yeezy collaboration with Adidas, West has also designed shoes for Nike, Louis Vuitton, and Giuseppe Zanotti.

On July 4, 2020, West announced on Twitter that he would be running in the 2020 presidential election. On July 7, he was interviewed by Forbes about his presidential run and confirmed that he would run as an independent under the "Birthday Party", explaining that he chose the name "Because when we win, it's everybody's 'birthday'." Skeptics have suggested that his presidential run may have been a publicity stunt to promote his latest music. West responded to these critics by announcing that he would run again in 2024.