Why was Kanye West and Lady Gaga’s joint tour cancelled? Ye’s documentary ‘In Whose Name?’ reveals the duo planning their ‘Fame Kills’ tour

In 2009, Lady Gaga spoke about the canceled joint tour with Kanye West that had been announced earlier that year. The ‘Fame Kills’ tour was supposed to feature both artists headlining North American shows. Gaga was promoting her The Fame Monster EP while West was supporting his 808s and Heartbreak album. However, the tour never happened, and no clear reasons were shared back then.

Soon after West interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, the tour was canceled. There was much media buzz around the incident. In 2009, no official statement was made. However, Gaga has since spoken about it in recent interviews and about how challenging it can be for artists to juggle tours while taking care of themselves.

In discussing her new movie, A Star Is Born, directed by Bradley Cooper, Gaga outlined the importance of mental health and why people should be concerned about their body and mind.

“I think that everybody has a threshold and everybody’s human, and artists are human,” she said. “This film also deals with mental health, substance abuse, and addiction – a lot of trauma as well, for Jackson.

“There’s nothing wrong with it if an artist needs to stop – it’s them listening to their body and their mind […] It’s nice to be treated like a human being,” she added.

Gaga explained that walking away from certain commitments, like the cancelled tour, can sometimes be the right move to stay balanced and true to one’s art. She also said,

“I think what I learned from Bradley [is] it’s okay to be relentlessly sure of your vision and to go after it with every fibre of your being, and to never stop white gloving what you’re making. Sometimes, as an artist, I second guess myself when I go, ‘Am I pulling the thread? Am I unravelling the whole blanket now? Do I need to stop?’ It’s changed the way that I work today.”

Kanye West’s six-year journey is explored in ‘In Whose Name?’

In Whose Name? is a documentary that portrays a vulnerable Kanye over six years, from his achievements to the struggles of his personal life. Directed by Nico Ballesteros, the movie compresses 3,000 hours of footage into a 106-minute feature-length film to offer viewers unprecedented access during this tumultuous time for West: marked by his mental health episodes, controversies, and the diminishing occasion of his marriage to Kim Kardashian.

Celebrities, friends, and collaborators of West also appeared in the documentary: Lady Gaga, Drake, LeBron James, Chris Rock, Diddy, Rihanna, Virgil Abloh, and Justin Bieber all highlight the juxtaposition of his artistic influence with the controversies that followed.

The 'Fame Kills' tour stands out as an important chapter for both artists, showing how public pressure, work duties, and personal health can collide. Fans back then received no solid answers, but Gaga’s newer remarks help people understand what might have led to the tour ending.