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The Kanye West story continues to get even more bizarre. His ex business manager claims a dentist got the MC hooked on laughing gas.
As reported by Page Six YE’s former chief of staff made some very interesting allegations about one of his doctors. On Wednesday, August 7, Milo Yiannopoulos (yeah, that same Milo Yiannopoulos) claimed a dentist has gotten the Chicago, Illinois native hooked on nitrous oxide; a odorless, colorless, non-flammable gas that when inhaled will cause a state of euphoria. He detailed his theory over a series of post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “There is a reason Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is no longer capable of successfully releasing music or clothing. In fact, there are several reasons. But the most serious and the most recent is his dentist, Thomas Connelly.” he wrote.
“Connelly got Ye hooked on nitrous—laughing gas. It is my belief that Connelly sought to diminish Ye’s mental faculties so that Connelly and his business associates could extract millions of dollars from him.” he added. “Earlier this year, I uncovered the fraud and intervened. Ye, hooked on nitrous, blew up our relationship on purpose by proposing something he knew I’d have to resign over (because I had told him so): the resurrection of his longtime idle fantasy of making porn.” Milo also proclaims Kanye isn’t the only rapper who is victim of Connelly’s crooked ways. “Thomas Connelly is a dangerous predator who targets African-American celebrities—into whose mouth he puts fake diamonds, as I suspect he did to @lilyachty He must be stopped.”
Yiannopoulos went on to share a sworn affidavit of his time while overseeing the YEEZY empire. His account includes him finding “dozens of fraudulent schemes, audacious greed, double billing, duplication of labor, entirely unnecessary employees collecting seven-figure salaries and all manner of other senseless wastes of money.” Additionally, he lays out that Connelly charges Kanye about $50,000 a month for the laughing gas. A representative for the dentist tells TMZ that Milo’s claims are “not only factually incorrect but also intentionally misleading.”
Phish’s Trey Anastasio has 17 years of sobriety under his belt and in late 2023 he paid it forward by opening a residential recovery program, Divided Sky, in his native Vermont with the caseworker who helped him after a 2006 arrest for heroin possession and DWI.
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According to People, the 46-bed facility in Ludlow, VT is a “nonclinical, abstinence-based center that follows the 12-step program” and costs $7,500 for a 30 day stay; financial aid is available for those in need. “I’ve seen people in dire situations come back from this. It’s never too late to have hope,” Anastasio, 59, told the magazine. “Families can be saved.”
The facility’s model is based on The Minnesota recovery center The Retreat, which does not put patients through detox, which Anastasio said helps to keep the cost down. “So basically, you know you’re a drug addict, you’re an alcoholic when you walk in the door. If you need to do detox, we are connected in the local Vermont sober community with places where we would send you to a medical facility to detox,” he said. “Some people need longer than others. There’s a staff that assesses the condition that your loved one is in, and some people would come 20, 30 days, other people might need 90. It’s based on your individual situation. Some people might need longer and that’s perfectly fine.”
Anastasio developed an addiction to OxyContin in 2000 after first taking the prescription painkiller following dental surgery. Within four year, though, the married father of two adult daughters said, “I lost my band, then I almost lost my family,” in reference the substance issues that forced Phish into a two-year hiatus (2000-2002) that led to a reunion and then to another break in 2004 that lasted until 2008. “Drinking and drugging, for me it was a slow death of isolation.”
Anastasio got professional help after a Dec. 15, 2006 arrest in upstate New York on drug and DWI charges. “The minute I got arrested, I was relieved,” he said, adding that when he was handcuffed he “knew it was over.” At the time, prosecutors said Anastasio was arrested for weaving down a rural road near the Vermont border and was facing felony drug possession charges after police found hydrocodone, as well as misdemeanor drug possession charges for heroin, oxycodone and the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam (also known as Xanax).
The jam band leader and solo star pleaded guilty in April 2007 to a felony drug charge and avoided jail time in a plea agreement in which the more serious charges were dropped and he agreed to enter a 14-month drug court program in which he attended meetings and did court-ordered community service. According to People he hasn’t touched drugs or drink since.
Divided Sky’s program director is Melanie Gulde, who served as Anastasio’s caseworker at the time. “She saved my life,” Anastasio said of Gulde. “She’s a badass, but she’s also very loving.” Anastasio began raising the funds to open Divided Sky in 2020 via his “Beacon Jams” residency shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York.
“I hope people take away the fact that humans are resilient. Recovery is the greatest gift we can give ourselves,” said Gulde. “Divided Sky came about as Trey’s desire to give back on a bigger scale. I have had countless people tell me that Trey has been an inspiration for their own recovery. We must do the work, and that is exactly what he does.”
In addition to his ongoing touring and recording with Phish — who recently released their 16th studio album, Evolve — Anastasio has released a dozen albums, including 2022’s Mercy.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
Dry January seems like it’s everywhere, doesn’t it? At the top of every new year, the subject dominates social media posts and conversations with friends over mocktails. In 2022, an estimated 35% of Americans abstained from alcohol for the month of January — an increase from 21% in 2019.
After Dry January is over, many people will pour a drink in celebration of their achievement, while others may choose to make abstaining from alcohol a more permanent lifestyle. But for many Americans, the problem of addiction is more serious. More than 14 million adults in the United States have alcohol use disorder, and each year, we lose nearly 100,000 people to alcohol-related causes.
The music industry — known for “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll” — is among those hardest hit. A 2020 research project involving Tulane University found that a staggering 56% of music industry professionals cite problematic substance use. And we’re all familiar with the countless stories of artists who have tragically lost their lives or felt like they couldn’t return to the stage as they battled their addiction.
Now, the music industry is beginning to take the lead in supporting people in addiction recovery through community and empowerment, with musicians, fans, industry executives and crew showing what’s possible with innovative new solutions that go beyond the traditional recovery model.
Sadly, conventional approaches to addiction are not solving the problem at the same pace it’s growing. Despite the best of intentions, these traditional approaches can lead to feelings of shame and exclusion; many people in recovery say treatment programs can be too much sitting around and talking about their weaknesses. They can also feel isolating, and loneliness is one of the worst problems someone struggling with addiction can face. Because of this, there’s a negative stigma surrounding people in recovery.
But Dry January shows us something different. Instead of fostering isolation, it creates community, and it feels empowering because “everybody’s doing it,” It’s also inclusive of people who have challenges with substance use as well as those who don’t. There’s no demarcation: “We’re all in this together.” You feel freer to plan fun, sober activities with others. And whether you’re out socially or at a work event, you don’t have to make excuses for not drinking. People openly share how good they feel and how they’re gaining from it, not what they’re giving up.
It begs the question: What if this was how we supported people in recovery all year round? In music, at least, it’s a question that’s now being answered by a number of artists, companies and organizations.
The Warped Tour provided mental health and sobriety support on the road throughout, including bringing along a sober coach as a guide to artists and crew in recovery. This not only allowed the tour to help those who were trying to stay sober but also offered services to those whose habits were starting to affect their well-being before it became a larger issue.
Last year, Danny Wimmer Presents joined forces with 1 Million Strong, an initiative driven by Stand Together and The Phoenix (one of the most innovative recovery programs in the country) to create sober-supportive spaces or “wellness retreats” — for people in recovery and others — at last year’s Bourbon & Beyond Festival and the Louder Than Life Festival. In October, The Chainsmokers did the same at their concert at UC Berkeley’s Greek Theater.
This isn’t about turning the industry sober. It’s about giving people a better path to truly living in recovery so they can bring their best selves to music — allowing everyone to benefit from their unique contributions.
It’s clear that people across the music industry see the urgent need for something new. And perhaps it’s not surprising to see how the industry is uniquely able to offer it.
Just like the best aspects of Dry January, perhaps there’s no greater force on Earth than music at fighting isolation with community, overcoming shame by tapping into inner strength and beating stigma with self-expression and pride.
Colette Weintraub is the head of Stand Together Music, working alongside the music industry to co-create solutions around addiction recovery, education, free speech, and ending the war on drugs.
Kevin Lyman, best known as the creator of the Vans Warped Tour, has shaped youth culture for over 40 years with his award-winning expertise in the music and entertainment industry as well as business and philanthropic ventures.
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