Julia Fox’s rapid rise to fame was largely due to her relationship with Kanye West, a period she now views with deep regret.
For years, Fox had been recognized in New York for her unique fashion sense, wild partying, and carefree attitude. However, her brief romance with the rapper thrust her into an intense public and media spotlight that proved overwhelming.
The Uncut Gems actress described her time with West as profoundly ‘uncomfortable.’
Given her past experiences, including working as a dominatrix and being a sugar baby for a wealthy Indian billionaire, her discomfort with West speaks volumes. She explained to The Times why she considers it the worst relationship she has ever been in.
The timing was also unfortunate; West had recently endured a highly publicized and tumultuous breakup with Kim Kardashian and was exhibiting increasingly erratic behavior. This made the relationship a public spectacle.
In her book, Down the Drain, Fox discusses her brief involvement with West, whom she refers to as ‘the artist.’ She wrote the book to address and clarify numerous false rumors about her life.
Speaking to the publication, she expressed her regrets: “I regret that relationship so much. I hate it! It was only a few weeks but enough to last me a lifetime. I was in probably the most uncomfortable position in my life and that’s saying a lot. I don’t want to be known for being anyone’s girlfriend.”
Their brief affair occurred just as West was about to face backlash for antisemitic comments, while Fox was dealing with anger toward her ex-husband, Peter Artemiev, who had left her and their child.
In retaliation, she dated West, only to discover she was being used to retaliate against Kardashian. She shared, “It wasn’t my idea for it to go public. If anything, I was like, ‘We should wait,’ and then boom, it was done behind my back. I realised pretty quickly I was being used as a pawn.”
Prior to meeting, West would send a stylist to outfit her in attire he approved, and once even had a photographer present during a date. He subsequently sent a photo of them kissing to a magazine editor and requested she write about their meeting, only to rewrite it himself, as he disliked her version, which she found ‘dumb.’
Their relationship was void of physical intimacy and included playing Uno in a hotel room. West once offered to pay for her to get breast augmentation, which she refused, leading to their breakup after his insistence on her signing a non-disclosure agreement. He reportedly texted: “I can’t be friends with you if you don’t sign it.” Her response was, “I’ll live.”
Fox credits her son as a ‘grounding force’ that helped her end the relationship, though she harbors no ill will towards West. She stated: “I’m not about to hold a grudge and make my life miserable because I’m still angry about something. At some point you have to forgive and move on, because you think you’re hurting the other person but you’re really just hurting yourself.”