Desiigner Seeks Mental Health Care after Exposing Himself on Flight

Brooklyn rapper Desiigner, famed for his 2016 smash hit “Panda” and contributions to Kanye West songs like “Freestyle 4” and “Champions,” has run into a bit of trouble. On a recent flight home from Asia where he played two shows in Tokyo and at Rolling Loud Thailand, Desiigner was reprimanded and questioned by authorities for exposing his private parts, per TMZ.

Following the incident, Desiigner took to his Twitter to discuss the matter, telling fans that he was going to admit himself to a mental health facility. He explained that he has been struggling with his mental health for a while now, and had a hiccup during one of his Asia shows before the debacle on the plane.

“For the past few months I have not been OK, and I have been struggling to come to terms with what is going on,” he wrote. “While overseas for a concert I performed at, I had to be admitted into a hospital, I was not thinking clearly. They gave me meds, and I had to hop on a plane home. I am ashamed of my actions that happened on that plane. I landed back to the states, and am admitting myself in a facility to help me. I will be cancelling all of my shows and any obligations until further notice. Mental health is real guys, please pray for me. If (you’re) not feeling like yourself please get help.”

In an interview with HotNewHipHop in December, Desiigner revealed that he was working on his debut studio album New Color, although he never confirmed a release date.

“New Color. The new album’s called New Color. I’m working on it right now. It’s fire,” he told HNHH. “I got some features on it already. It’s lit. I’m just putting it together. Shout out to a couple of great producers, like Rich Skillz, ATL [Jacob]. You know what I’m saying, people like that.” 

Before and after this interview, he had been releasing multiple promotional singles for New Color, although it is not clear which ones were meant to land on the eventual track list. Most notable among these releases is “Kilo” with Slim Jxmmi of Rae Sremmurd (Dec. 2022), “Two in One” (Feb. 2023), and “PMR” with A Boogie wit da Hoodie (March 2023).

Since Desiigner aims to put all his current endeavors to a halt while he works on himself, it’s unknown when or if New Color will still release. But, it’s certainly reassuring for fans to hear that he is prioritizing getting better.

. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images